Things Have Changed
by allconspirer
Summary: Rubbishy title I know but here it is the sequel to things are changing. If you've read the first you'll know all you need to know.
1. Coping with grief

Welcome to the sequel to 'things are changing' if you haven't read it yet you will need to in order to understand this one! This is the sad and a little depressing first chapter, it will get a little more cheerful eventually but this will be a bit of a darker story.

Here we go again!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

"Are you sure this is the right place?" The ever sweet ever innocent looking Max gazed around at the collection of seedy nightclubs and bars that made up the bad downtown area of Bakuten Tyson's hometown.

"Maxie, Maxie, Maxie! I know this is all new to you but Kai's in a self destructive state right now, this is where he will be." Tala shook his head "Look Kai's gonna be around here somewhere and we need to find him. If you aren't able to do this…."

"It's Kai" Max told him "I've seen him when he gets self destructive and I don't want him to hurt himself. Of course I can do this"

"Alright" Tala nodded feeling an odd sense of admiration for the way Max said this, he was beginning to gain new respect for the blonde. Max was grieving just as badly as the rest of them but he always managed to put that aside in order to help Kai "everyone take a bar text everyone if you find him, do not try to handle him on you own"

There were nods as the Blitzkrieg Boys and the old Blade Breaker teams all headed off into the different bars to look for Kai.

--

"Another one" Kai held out his glass waiting for the bartender to pour some more sake into it.

In this last week it had become a ritual for Kai at the end of a long day of sitting by the beach staring into the horizon to wind down in one of the worst bars in town where he was likely to find alcohol and usually a fight.

"Are you sure?" the bartender asked looking concerned, it wasn't unusual for people to come to this bar to get trashed but there was a sense of despair in the young mans eyes that worried even the most hard hearted of people.

Kai said nothing merely giving the man a look that was reminiscent of the ice sculpture Tala had created during his beybattle.

"Ok" getting the message the bartender poured him another shot of the rice wine

Kai knocked back the drink with remarkable ease smiling as he watched a couple of guys squaring off against each other. He could tell that this would soon turn into a free-for-all fight where pretty much everyone in the bar would join in and quite a few people ended up spending a night in the cells.

So far Tala had come down and bailed him out twice, Kai still had seventeen stitches running down his arm where a broken bottle had slashed into him. This last week he had suffered a broken nose, two black eyes and three broken fingers, the hospital had prescribed him four different types of pain killers and he hadn't taken any of them. The thing was he liked the pain, it was easier to bear than the numbing emptiness he felt within, the pain was good.

"So here you are" the voice beside Kai made him groan, the last thing he wanted right now was company.

Not even bothering to look at the newcomer Kai muttered "I thought that by being here no one would find me"

"Yeah well it's a small world" Tia took a seat beside Kai and nodded to the bartender "just a coke, I'm driving"

"And another for me, I'm paying for both" Kai handed over a bank note and was poured another drink "Keep the change. You'd better not tell anyone about this place"

Shaking her head Tia sighed "Kai if they need to find you…."

"Promise you won't tell" Kai looked at her his eyes so deeply troubled that Tia just didn't have the heart to refuse him

"Alright I promise, but if I need to find you again I'm coming back here and I'll bring Mariah with me, with her hormonal state she could kick your ass from here to next week."

"OK" Kai was unable to stop a smallsardonic chuckle from escaping as he nodded "Still you shouldn't be in this area, its dangerous"

"I knew you'd be around here, what with the guys always scouting your usual territory" Tia shrugged, she'd travelled to the next town to find Kai tonight "And as for it being a dangerous area I'll just depend on you to get me home safe"

"No one should depend on me, Hilary depended on me, look where that got her" normally Kai didn't talk about Hilary but in the alcoholic daze his wall dropped and he would talk

"You were in another country" Tia told him shaking her head "you couldn't have done anything"

"I shouldn't have left her. I shouldn't have left her **knowing **that she was still in danger" frowning angrily Kai clenched his hand around the glass wishing he could break it..., he couldn't the drink he had consumedwas beginning to weaken him numbing him physically as well as mentally.

"It had been weeks, we all thought that it was over"

"No" Kai shook his head downing his drink "I know my grandfather, I always knew he didn't give up that easily. I wish I was dead"

"I know how you feel" Tia agreed smiling as the barman finally handed her drink she took a small sip "Thank you. I just wish I'd been around her for longer, I lost so many years of being her friend"

"Why did you and Hilary lose contact for so long?" Kai asked interested, he knew Hillary well enough to know that she didn't give up on friendship easily.

"I had an abusive boyfriend" Tia told him shrugging "She told me he was bad news I didn't want to hear it and stopped all contact with her. She was right of course."

"She was always right" he muttered unhappily

"Yeah...,well almost always. HeyKai can I ask you a question and promise you won't be offended?"

"What's the question?"

"I don't know how to put it so I'll just come right out and ask. How often have you considered throwing yourself off something?"

"At least once every waking hour." he replied totally honestly

Tia nodded "Right! Should I be worried? I don't think Hilary… I just want to make sure…."

"I'm not going to do it." he told her taking a swig of drink

"Good, just wanted to be sure.I'm not that bad myself, but it is like a part of me's missing, even when I was away from Hilary just knowing she was out there somewhere made me feel good about myself. The idea she's not in the world anymore makes it such a scary place to be."

Kai nodded understandingly "There are only two things that are keeping me going right now."

"What are they?"

"That after the funeral I'm going after her killers and that at night…" Kai broke off taking another drink from his glass before holding it out to be refilled "at night she's in my dreams. She's with me every night and it is a comfort sometimes" the glass was filled and he threw down a twenty muttering 'just leave the bottle' the bartender took the money and left the bottle.

"Only sometimes?" Tia asked

Kai gave her a confused look "What?"

"You said the dreams were 'a comfort sometimes' why only sometimes?"

"If the dream was particularly real I wake up and for a second I forget, I forget that she's gone and when I remember that she is gone, and I won't ever see her again it hurts more than ever." Kai frowned angrily, what he didn't like to tell her was thatsometimes he woke up in a cold sweat unsure of what his dream had been. It made him feel weak and useless but most of all he missed waking up and not having Hilary there. True they weren't always together but he had grown accustomed to her warmth and company, he missed her so badly.

"I have to say something at her funeral" Tia told him changing the subject"I've got to write it, I don't know what to say"

"Don't look at me for help, we never even had a song." Kai frowned "I never knew that was important but according to her cousins all couples should have a song."

"Only couples in movies have songs these days" Tia told him "her cousins just don't know what music to play, I've helped them pick out loads"

"I guess the closest we have is..." Kai paused taking another sip of drink

"What?"

"Bruce Springsteen's born to run, it's the only song we sang together"

"Very romantic!" she snorted a little

"Very true of who we were at the time, we'd done a lot of running and we had a load more to come"

"What song would you say suits you now?"

"Linkin Park's Numb"

Tia laughed "I'll remember that"

"No" Kai shook his head "I guess that song No Air" he paused before taking a swig from the bottle of drink "The whole bit about losing you is like living in a world with no air. When I last spoke to Hilary she said she loved that song"

Behind them the fight Kai had been looking forward to started up, glancing over at his companion Kai shrugged picking up the bottle of sake "I guess I better get you out of here huh?"

"You can join in if you like" Tia gave him an understanding grin but Kai shook his head before standing up (a little unsteadily) and offering his hand to his companion, smiling at the chivalric action Tia took his hand allowed him to get her out of the bar.

--

Sitting in the hotel Mariah was waiting for Ray to get home, he had gone out as usual to make sure Kai got home ok and she didn't resent that in the least but she worried about him. She didn't like himgoing into dangerous bars where he could get into a fight. Lucky for her Tia, Millie and Max were staying in the same hotel and Tia would visit a lot usually bringing something with her to distract them all. This week it had been a really simple book all about the nine months of pregnancy, they had spent ages pouring over it and occasionally laughing at something that struck them as pointless. The first chapter had explained that being pregnant mean there was a new life growing inside of you... well duh!

Resting a hand on her stomach and contemplating the new life growing inside of her Mariah sighed, all this had seemed so much easier when Hilary had been there she had known all the medical details and found it easy to explain everything to her friends. A tear had dropped on her hand before she even realised she was crying, she had already decided that Hilary would be the closest thing to a godmother as her baby would get. Asides from Lee Hilary had been the closest thing Mariah had to family.

"Mariah?"

Looking up Mariah was surprised to see Ray standing by the door "you're home sooner than I thought you would be" she brushed away her tears and gave him a half-hearted smile.

"Tia called and said she'd found Kai and was driving him home, it's kind of annoying that she went out and found him so easily while we usually take a few hours"

"Should never send a man to do a woman's job"

Ray walked over to the sofa and sat next to her placing his arms around her shoulders and holding her close "Are you ok?"

"I just wish…" Mariah trailed off feeling stupid

"What do you wish?" Ray looked so concerned that Mariah decided to pour her heart out.

"I wish I felt like she's really gone. I know she's dead but something inside of me makes feel like she's still…" Mariah trailed off again shaking her head "I just don't totally believe that she's gone, I know that they released the post mortem results for us to see but... I was meditating the other day and Galux seemed to show me... It was like she was still alive, that's all"

"You just miss her, it's hard but we'll get through this" Ray told her comfortingly

"I just miss her" Mariah agreed nodding sadly "maybe that is it. I lost so much family recently and I thought Hilary would be there when the baby was born, she promised to help us find a home, she was going to help me decorate. She even wanted control over the baby shower. I can cope with my mum and dad not being there for all that, but Hilary… she was family in a way they never were."

"You still have Lee, and me" Ray told her "I know we're both guys but… but maybe we can help you through this"

"You do help, I just don't feel very secure without her, she was like a safety net. She was family"

"Marry me?" Ray asked

"What?" Mariah stared at him "Why…what, that's a big thing to just casually throw out there"

"It's not casual, Mariah I planned to ask you before I knew you were pregnant, I even have a ring….somewhere, when I found out about the baby I thought it would seem forced but I'm asking you now because I love you, and life is far to short to worry about how things appear. I love you, so will you marry me?"

"I love you too, and yes I will marry you but not till after the baby's born."

"What? Why afterwards?" Ray asked

"Because if we did it before my parents might forgive me"

"How's that a bad thing? I was kind of hoping we'd be a family, the Kon family!"

"The baby will still have your last name, don't worry about that, but I want my baby, our baby, to know that everyone around at it's birth loved it no matter what."

"I like that" Ray approved dropping a kiss on her pink hair "So we get married when you can fit into a nice dress?" he teased

"Well a girl wants to have her special day." Mariah smiled back kissing him on the lips.

It wasn't the most romantic moment of their lives but it afforded them both a little comfort in a time when it was sorely needed.

--

As Tia's car pulled up in front of the Dojo Tyson and Tala were standing waiting, they looked so like a pair of bouncers waiting at the door of a club that Tia had to laugh. She climbed out of the car and indicated the backseat where Kai had thrown himself in and concentrated on finishing his drink, he had passed out only a few minutes ago and she was glad she wouldn't be expected to carry him in.

"He's out cold" she told them with a shrug

"Where was he?"

"I'm not saying" Tia shook her head "I promised"

"Tia!" Tala hissed exasperated, then he pushed past her to open the car door. Lying on the back seat Kai hugged a sake bottle to his chest while snoring lightly.

"You both OK?" Tyson asked giving Tia a worried look, she no longer needed a stick to walk with but every now and then her leg would bother her and she would need to rest it.

"I'll be fine once I get back to the hotel" Tia told him with a smile before turning to make sure Tala didn't hit Kai's head as he got him out of the car, for once he had come home completely uninjured and she planned to keep it that way. Tyson walked forward to help pull Kai from the car and between the three of them they managed to drag Kai into his room.

They dumped him (Sake bottle and all) unceremoniously onto the bed, Kai didn't awaken from his stupor merely muttering 'a yellow kitchen' before rolling onto his side and snoring loudly.

As Tyson and Tala walked with Tia back to her car the girl stopped to ask

"What did he mean about a yellow kitchen?"

"I dunno" Tala replied quickly " back before all this happened while we were in his house in Russia he was talking about painting his kitchen yellow. God knows why!"

"I know why" Tyson muttered

"Oh yeah?" Tala asked sarcastically "and how would you know him better than me?"

"I never said that" Tyson spat back

"Guys there's no need to fight" Tia tried to placate them feeling awkward but Tyson shook his head

"It's not a case of knowing Kai, it was a case of knowing Hilary, when me and the guys were helping Hilary to redecorate the kitchen in her house, we painted it yellow because she said…. Because she said…." he sniffed "That kitchens should always be yellow….." he laughed darkly through his sadness shrugging slightly "Because that way they're bright and sunny in the morning no matter what the weather" he finally finished smiling "He was going to do that for Hilary"

"I get it" Tia said gently while Tala nodded

"I wish I **had **jumped in after her" Tyson said "I wanted to, I needed to, I was going to but Hiro wouldn't let me"

"No" Tala shook his head violently "Tyson you would both have drowned, there was nothing you could have done. You'd have died too"

"I'd prefer it that way"

"No Tyson" Tia moved forward instinctively placing an arm around him "don't ever say that, life is cruel and unfair but Hilary loved you and she would have wanted you to be happy, she would have want you to live life."

"Would have being the operative words" Tyson pulled away from the embrace "you guys don't get it it's my fault"

"It's not your fault Ty" Tia tried to say comfortingly but Tyson pulled away again and ran back into the dojo leaving a hurt and confused Tia standing watching.

"He gets like that whenever anyone says that"

"When someone says that its not his fault?" Tia asked confused

"No, the exact words have to be 'it's not your fault Ty' I don't know why but he hates to hear that sentence" Tala looked at the doorway Tyson had disappeared through "but he'll be OK, they both will."

"How's Kai doing really? I mean he's not working… his money situation must be…"

"He's pretty well off Tia" Tala reassured her "He's Hiwatari enterprises"

"Oh, so he's **very **well off" she laughed a little, strange she had never made that connection herself.

"Yeah, someone else is looking after the company for now, he knew he couldn't do it so he signed up for someone from within the company to look after things for him. It's the one thing he's being responsible about"

"Well I guess it's because other people depend on him for that"

Tala nodded in agreement "Well I'm gonna go in, sure you don't want to stay? I'm going to spend the night making sure Kai doesn't choke on his own vomit while he sleeps"

"You really know how to charm a girl but no… Hilary's mother asked Mariah to speak at the funeral but she can't do it so I'm up. I also have to meet with Hils' family early tomorrow I've then got to help her mother decide what outfit Hilary will wear in the coffin, it should have been done ages ago but her family couldn't bear to do it. Want to trade? I'll watch Kai you can do my stuff…."

"My job suddenly sounds very pleasant" Tala joked they both laughed a little but it didn't last long, feeling bad for her Tala moved forward placing a hand on Tia's shoulder "We'll all get through this you know, we just need to take it one step at a time!"

"One step at a time" Tia nodded "I just wish we could all step backwards instead of forwards" They stood for a bit longer in silence before Tia finally shook her head "I better get to bed."

"I guess I'll see you the day after tomorrow, at the you know….funeral"

"Yeah, by the way….after the you know…. funeral….you might want to watch Kai a bit more….um" Tia felt bad, she wanted to warn Tala that Kai might do something stupid but she didn't want to totally betray the heartbroken Kai.

Guessing that Kai had spoken of his vengeance plan as he so often did when he was drunk Tala grinned nodding "Don't worry I know what he plans to do, I'll keep an eye on him."

--

Tyson sat in his room feeling angry, everyone kept saying that it wasn't his fault but it was! He hadn't minded everyone being so kind at first because he expected something form Kai. He expected Kai to at least hit him…. But he hadn't.

Even when Tyson had told him everything Kai hadn't hurt him in the least.

Of course maybe now that Kai was drunk….when Kai was sober he was his usual cold calculating self but when he was drunk…

Tala hadn't come in yet, he was still outside talking to Tia so Tyson found it easy to sneak into Kai's room.

"Kai?" he hissed but there was no response from the prone figure "Kai!" he said it a little louder

"Get lost Tyson" Kai muttered without moving "I know what you want but I'm not going to hit ya."

"Why not?" Tyson asked seriously "It's my fault, why won't someone let me take the blame?"

Groaning Kai sat up and stared at his long time rival "Tyson we all know that if you could go back and save her you would. I am also guessing that the reason you get so pissed off when someone says 'it's not your fault Ty' is because that's exactly what she said to you."

There was silence and after a few moments Tyson nodded "Those were her exact words, she was hanging by her fingertips, she was about to fall to her... and she told me it wasn't my fault….. how did you guess?"

"Because she always put other people first, even when she was dying Hilary would have thought of you and your feelings. Do you remember the robbery?"

"The one just before we left for the tournament?"

"Yeah that one."

"Yeah, I remember what about it?"

"I was fighting someone they were on top of me with a knife and Hilary hit him with a lamp and her first words were 'is he dead?' she was terrified that she had hurt him. Never mind the guy had a fucking knife at my throat. She was worried she had hurt him "

"Typical Hilary"

"Yeah, now fuck off and let me sleep, and don't ever try to make me hit you again, one day I may lose it and hurt you and I could really hurt you."

"I'll keep that in mind"

--

"It's too late for this, what's going on?" Brady had once again been escorted to his Fathers presence, he had arrived to discover his father trying on a black suit.

"Brady. Finally" signalling for the security guard to leave them Horatio indicated a chair for Brady "Please sit down"

"I'm good standing"

"Very well, I have news for you"

"What?" Brady asked not really caring what his father had to say, he looked away from the man wishing he could be somewhere, anywhere else.

Horatio stared at his son for a little while knowing almost exactly what he was thinking "Brady would you listen? Tomorrow we put the plan into action"

Brady's head snapped up "Tomorrow? Jeeze you haven't even buried her properly"

"She isn't going to be buried, they intend to cremate her, the funeral is Thursday" Horatio said with an air of finality " and she will be cremated tomorrow" he then turned back to the mirror

Confused the scientist stared at his father "Tomorrow? It's Tuesday night..., you just said that the funeral isn't until Thursday"

"She will be cremated tomorrow" he repeated

"You can't even let them do this their own way can you? This funeral must be on your terms not theirs!"

Regarding himself in the mirror Horatio ignored his son "I think this must have shrunk a little, it's very tight around the shoulders"

"You just don't care do you?" Brady looked at the man ahead of him "I thought you had sunk to the lowest of the low in my estimation but now I see there are new depths to which you can lower yourself"

"I do not need a lecture from you"

"Well tough you're gonna get it, you killed an innocent girl, your own flesh and blood and you don't give a damn. You are putting your entire family through hell not to mention what this must be doing to everyone else that cared about her and for what? This was all to create the perfect blader, do you realise how pathetic that is? And now you won't even let them organise the funeral their own way, they need to grieve it's easy for you, you aren't grieving but they are. How can you be so cold?"

Now would be the perfect moment for Brady to turn and storm out of the room unfortunately if he tried to leave the room before his father called the security guards to take him away he would be escorted straight back in.

"She must be cremated" Horatio responded, "if not…."

"If not they could find out what you've done, forgive me but I'm not on your side with this one." Brady looked his father up and down before saying spitefully "And the suit hasn't shrunk, you've gained weight!"

--

Kai woke up groaning, he rolled for a second restlessly in his bed before sitting up and rubbing his eyes. The curtains were closed but there was a narrow opening between the curtains were a shaft of light seemed to blind him, after a few moments of doing nothing Kai pulled himself off the bed and stood on his feet trying to get his bearings. He was back in his room at Tyson's, he had no idea how he had gotten here but he vaguely remembered Tia arriving at the bar and getting into the back of her car.

"Kai?" there was a knock at the door

As evenly as possible he yelled out "Just a second Tala" immediately Kai regretted the yelling as the sound and effort it took to yell made the pain around his temples tighten up and intensify.

Swallowing down a couple of pills Kai schooled his face into an expression of cold indifference, he opened the door and stared at the redhead on the other side "What?"

"Good morning to you too!" Tala held out a plate, on it sat a plain slice of wholemeal toast, in his other hand was a cup of tea

"Nothing thanks, I'm not hungry"

"You will eat and drink this or I will force it down your throat."

Kai raised an eyebrow

"Spencer, Bryan and Hiro have offered to help. If things get really bad Tia suggests I call Mariah, apparently she's hormonal and in need of kicking…."

"Kicking someone ass from here to next week?" Kai finished remembering what he had been told last night

"So I've heard" the redhead gave a small smile and held the plate and cup out a bit more "Kai you need to eat"

Looking down at the small and very plain breakfast he shrugged "might as well" he picked up the slice of toast from the plate and took the cup, then turning back into his room he kicked the door shut and sat down to eat.

Once he had finished eating Kai couldn't help but admit that he felt a little better, he got washed and dressed deciding that he needed to get out. He had arranged to meet Renaldo today and he couldn't afford to be late, After all he was depending on Renaldo to help him track down his grandfather and to keep tabs on Hilary's. Horatio Tatibana was bound to be at the funeral but Kai had promised himself for Hilary's sake that he wouldn't ruin her funeral. It was all he could do for her now.

Her funeral, a part of him still felt numb whenever he thought that.

He picked up his cell phone and dialled a number, he waited a few moments following the instructions on the other end and then waited

"Hi Kai" her voice sounded so close, so happy "I'm just calling to tell you that Tyson's changed the venue for today's training. I know I know he's annoying, and actually the only reason he's changed it is so he can get free food. Anyway we're gonna be at the BBA so if you could meet us there that'd be great! Bye….. Love you!"

As soon as the message was finished he saved it again,

"Love you too" he whispered gently, then shoving his phone back into his pocket he left to meet Renaldo.

* * *

Sorry for the wait. Love you all, please review

Please R&R


	2. Plans for revenge and the funeral

I do not own Beyblade or anything else mentioned here that I could be sued over!

* * *

Stony faced and silent Renaldo stood at the docks staring out at the water it was a rough day and any normal person would be inside in the warm right now. He was not looking forward to seeing his next appointment or the other friends he had in this town. He had been due to arrive weeks ago but had been unable to make it because of a work problem, now he wished he had just come to Japan when he was supposed to. That way he could have seen his friends happy, he would have seen Hilary with her constantly happy and welcoming smile. Two weeks, she had been dead for over two weeks now, maybe if he had been here he could have done something..

Pressing the heel of his hand against his forehead Kai groaned, hangover's were the worst! Looking up he saw the man he was looking for, he could only see his back as the man stared out at the water but who else would be hanging around here at this time and on such a cold gloomy morning.

"Travis?"

"Hiwatari" recognising the voice Renaldo turned, seeing his friend he was shocked by the state Kai was in. When he had last seen him Kai was only just recovering from a life threatening illness but still he would have described him as having been in peak physical condition. Now the Russian's pale skin was sallow as though he spent all his time in doors, his hair was a mess, not that Kai ever spent a lot of time on his hair but somehow even his two toned mane was looking depressed. It was extremely windy and cold but Kai wore no coat preferring to allow his skin go almost blue. There were bruises around the grey eyes his left arm had a long and painful looking scar with stitches. "You look like hell"

"Well that's where I've been spending my time lately" Kai gave his friend a half hearted smile and received an equally weak smile from Renaldo.

"Kai I'm so…."

"Don't" Kai shook his head "if you want to help you know what I want"

"Kai I don't want to be responsible for your death" Renaldo told him sadly "is there no other way of…."

"You want her killers to get away with what they've done?"

"No but Kai…."

"Don't" Kai commanded again, he went forward walking to stand at Renaldo's side "instead look down, look into the water"

Doing as his friend asked Renaldo stared down, it was a rough day today and the dock was drenched with water, as he looked down onto the waves below him he wondered what point Kai was trying to make.

"See what that's like?"

"Yeah" Renaldo nodded

"The cliff top where Hilary fell the waves below it were just like this, there were rocks but she didn't get knocked out on her fall, they say she was awake struggling against the currents and fighting against the waves before she drowned. It says that from her bruises it looks like someone held her down, the police think she and Lando fought in the water, that he held her under until she stopped moving. She was awake and she was being attacked when she drowned, she would have felt that last bit of control go, you know the bit? Where you've been holding your breath for a long time and you know that if you don't breathe soon that's it, your lungs feel pressured and painful. She'd have felt that and she'd have died desperately struggling to get to the surface to breathe."

There was a long silence, Renaldo realised that what he was thinking now was probably what Kai thought about all day. He also realised that until his friend got some sort of vengeance he would never move on at all.

Kai watched Renaldo closely before simply stating "Now tell me that I should let this go."

For a few minutes the two of them stood there staring down at the water, finally Renaldo nodded "I can got you the gun for free but the rest of it….it's expensive and I lost of money helping you guys out…." before he could sat anymore a wad of cash appeared in his line of vision.

"When you want more I'll get it to you, I'll give you cash nothing else and none of this will get traced to you. I promise"

"I trust you" Renaldo took the money and shoved it into his pocket

"I'll need the gun Friday"

"Kai that's quick, if we want a gun that can't be traced to either of us…"

"Just you…I don't care if it can be traced to me. As long as I do what I need to before it can be traced to me."

"Yeah well about that….Voltaire's still missing, we got no lead on him."

"You're coming to the funeral right?"

"Right" Renaldo nodded, he hadn't been sure before, the last thing he wanted was to see Horatio but that didn't matter now. Not really.

"Horatio Tatibana will be there, he will lead you to Voltaire"

"I'll do what I can. Kai…. I am **so **sorry she's gone"

"Not as sorry as they're going to be." and with that Kai turned and walked away.

Renaldo didn't move for a few moments, he was waiting for Kai to get away before he turned around. Once he was sure his friend was a safe distance away he turned and regarded him with a critical eye, Kai was thinner than he had ever remembered seeing him before and he had never been a bulky type. The muscles on Kai's arms weren't as tight as they once were and he was walking with a slightly stooped posture. It didn't look good.

Right now the only thing keeping Kai going was determination and vengeance. Once his need for revenge was satiated Renaldo wondered how long the determination would last, Kai was on a path that eventually would lead to his destruction and Renaldo was helping him along the way.

--

Abigail Tatibana stood with Theodora Davis in the upstairs hallway of her house, in front of them was the doorway to Hilary's bedroom.

"I can't do this Tia" Hilary's mother whispered "I keep trying to go in there but I just can't"

Against all her better judgment Tia gave the woman's arm a squeeze and whispered "Do you want me to do it?"

"Could you?" eyes filling with tears Abi moved away from the door "I just can't"

Tia watched as the mother of her oldest and best friend fled down the stairs, reaching out Tia tried to place her hand on the door handle but just couldn't bring herself to do it. She stood there one arm outstretched, she inched forward forcing her hand closer and closer until it rested on the handle.

Alright! One hand now resting lightly on the handle all she had to do was get up the courage to open the door.

"Now you turn it" a helpful voice behind her recommended

"Millie!" Grateful to have someone else there Tia turned and hugged her cousin "What are you doing here?"

"Mariah told me about what you had to do, Hilary's mum let me in" Millie took her cousins hand on the handle again "you can do this. It's just a room."

"I know, but it was hers." Having her cousin beside her Tia finally felt strong enough to slowly open the door and walk in.

It was the smell that hit her first, that smell a person has, it's not always a specific scent but a mix of odours that somehow becomes associated with the person. Inside Hilary's room it still smelt of her, that mix of spray on deodorants, moisturisers, the lavender pouch's she kept in her clothes drawers. Tia could feel the tears come to her eyes, she looked around at the room, it was exactly as she remembered it, the floor was tidy, the bed was made but on the desk was an unusually untidy clutter of stuff. As she looked at the mess on the desk she remembered the night Hilary had gone to Tyson's they hadn't been able to find her keys. Tia had made the point that Hilary could just knock when she got back but Hilary had been insistent that she ought to find her keys as Tia might decide to have an early night.

The keys had predictably been at the bottom of Hilary's bag all along and after emptying out the bus tickets, small change, tampons, make up. hair accessories, and for some reason a pair of striped socks Hilary had grinned sheepishly and leaving the mess on her desk to be sorted out later ran out the house yelling goodbye to her friend. For Tia it was such a trivial but important memory, the last time she had seen Hilary.

"Lets find that outfit" Millie interrupted her cousins reverie and guided her to the closet, they opened it and Tia grinned. Coats and jumpers were at one end followed by trousers, then skirts, then shirts and finally dresses. "Well that makes things easier" Millie remarked thinking of her own messy wardrobe where most of the stuff hung half off the hangers.

"She always was too tidy for her own good."

"Have you any idea what she'd want to wear?"

"Yeah actually" Tia reached in and pulled out a blue and white halter neck dress, "she was going to wear this for when Kai came back. He had promised to take her somewhere special and she went and brought this. She only wore it once and that was to show it to me. She looked beautiful."

"Nothing else, no coat or…?"

"No" Tia shook her head "she'll wear this. Mariah agreed that it would look good"

"How is Mariah? She was a little distracted today I know that with the funeral approaching she's going to be upset but… I don't know. She was acting odd."

"She's ok, she said something weird the other day though…. honestly bit beasts are more trouble than their worth" Tia scrunched up her face as she packed the dress into a protective covering

"What did she say?" Millie asked curiously, whatever Mariah had said was obviously bothering both of the girls.

"She said that she didn't feel Hilary was really dead, she said…" Tia shrugged it off "it doesn't matter. **I **even saw the body in the chapel of rest, that was Hilary no question…, it's not a big deal, once the funeral is over she'll realise everything's real. And lets face it there's no way Kai or I or anyone else for that matter could have mistaken that body. It just doesn't seem real to Mariah yet."

"What else did she say though?" Millie felt bad as she pushed her cousin for answers but obviously Tia was bothered by what had been said and Millie had had an odd feeling about everything for some time. "What did you mean about bit beasts?"

Frowning the taller blonde turned to the smaller girl and whispered "she said that Galux showed her something weird while meditating, she showed her that Hilary was alive, I don't know cause I've never had a bit beast but… just for a second I hoped she was right even though I know she can't be"

Nodding Millie watched as her cousin picked up the covered dress and left the room, she then turned to survey the room carefully. Pulling out her Beyblade she looked down at the bit chip, 'well Tara got anything to say?', there was no reply so Millie shoved her blade back into her pocket. She missed, the Beyblade fell to the floor and rolled under the bed.

Groaning Millie dropped to her knees and felt around for the missing blade, as she was doing so she pulled out a large black book, she recognised it instantly as Brady's journal, opening it up she found the letter Ianto had written shoved into the front. She scanned it carefully stopping as she read a certain paragraph

_You see my wife didn't have an accident or kill herself, Grandfather arranged it, _

_he knew what it would do to a junkie like me. He is a cruel and heartless man,_

_you do well to escape from his net, never go back to him no matter how bad _

_things get._

_I am sending you all this because Brady told me something that caused me to _

_believe that you're in danger._

Ianto had believed Hilary to be in danger…. But what from?

And he said in danger but he didn't specify what type of danger. Why didn't he just say Grandfather wants you dead?

And if Horatio Tatibana could arrange for someone to die and make it look like an accident or suicide how come he messed up this time?

As she pondered this she heard Tia calling her from downstairs, yelling back a response she shoved the heavy journal into her bag and ran down to join her cousin.

--

It's odd that you can live in a town all you life and remain oblivious to the location of a large amount of places. Tyson had never once been to the crematorium, but he knew there was one, he drove through the streets carefully. Just over an hour ago he had received an agonised phone call from Tia begging him to get to the crematorium quickly. He was driving dangerously half staring at the map on the seat next to him as he tried to negotiate traffic. It was a good thing the streets around here were always so quiet.

Finally looking up Tyson discovered a sign and following the directions posted by the road he arrived at a small building with a large car park. He got out of the car and walked hesitatingly up to the front door, he was just a few yards away when the door opened and Tia came bursting out, tears were cascading down her cheeks and her face was red from crying

"Oh my god" Tyson ran forward and opened his arms allowing her to run into them "what's happened?" for a little while he got no response from the girl but eventually calming down a little Tia pulled away sniffing.

"It already happened" the blonde whispered tragically

"What? What already happened?" Tyson was confused, he stared at her, it had to be something bad for her to lose it like this.

"The cremation, they say there was a mix up! She's gone" Tia wailed "she's gone, they already cremated her."

Tyson was shocked as he heard this, he gently stroked the girls hair hoping to calm her down. He looked at the doorway to see Millie stood there, he raised an eyebrow questioningly and Millie nodded. In his mind Tyson swore violently but he quickly turned his attention back onto the girl in his arms and he fumbled in his pocket for a packet of tissues. Just recently Tyson had been making sure that he always had a packet of tissues on him.

--

Watching her cousin cry Millie began to feel angry, how could anyone be so foolish as to make a mistake like that? Sure the Tatibana's were talking about suing but that didn't seem enough somehow. Millie wanted answers. There were a lot of things that didn't make sense about everything that had happened recently. She walked back inside to allow her cousin time to cry and found herself alone in front hall. Obviously Hilary's parents had been taken to one side in order to discuss this all rationally.

Pulling out her blackberry Millie opened up her e-mail and began writing.

"Hey you!" Millie turned, behind her stood a tall man with greying hair and ruby eyes, he was dressed in a black suit and looked very like an old version of Hilary's father.

"I beg your pardon?" Mille asked cocking her head to one side and studying the man

"Look I don't have time for this, are the Tatibana's here?"

"Yes…"

"And…?"

"And what sir?"

"Look you don't have to bullshit me, did you manage to get the body cremated before they got here?"

Millie felt speechless, she had never seen Hilary's grandfather and he had never seen her, was this him? She looked down at herself for a moment and realised that her smart black heels, black skirt and crisp white shirt had led this man to assume that she worked here. The fact that she had been using her blackberry had probably been the clincher "Yes sir, the body has been cremated"

"And no one saw it?"

"No" she shook her head "you'll be Horatio Tatibana?"

"That's me"

Making a wild guess Millie smiled saying "I assume you're dropping off what was agreed?"

"Of course" the man handed over an envelope and then looked around "where are the Tatibana's?"

"They have been taken away to have everything explained, if you would just wait here?" she indicated a seat suddenly aware of the dangerous game she was playing, this man could kill her if he wanted to. "I'll go get them"

"No you idiot they can't know I was here" he turned snarling insultingly as he rushed off making his way out of the balancing and away.

After watching him go Millie stood and after deeming her situation safe enough she looked into the envelope, inside was a form of some sort and a large cheque made out to the crematorium from an I. Batat. She was just resealing the envelope when she found herself face to face with the actual receptionist, like her the receptionist was blonde with very long hair, she even wore a similar outfit.

"Hi" Millie gave her a smile "great shoes"

"Oh thank you" the receptionist gave a giggle

'Oh yeah' Millie thought to herself 'Dumb blonde' maybe she could get away with this "Look Mr Horatio Tatibana arrived"

"Oh no! I wasn't there to meet him, I'm so fired!"

"No, I totally covered for you, he wants this to go to your boss and he wants to see the Tatibana's"

"Oh thank you so much" she smiled thankfully making Millie feel momentarily guilty, then Millie reminded herself why she was doing this. She needed answers!

"Our little secret" Millie gave her a grin, she left quickly after that running from the building to talk to her cousin.

Tyson and Tia still stood there but Tia looked a little calmer now, obviously they hadn't noticed Horatio Tatibana sweeping in and out of the building, Tyson was talking about going in and having a go at the crematorium people as well but Tia was shaking her head hopelessly.

Arriving with the grief-stricken couple Millie got their attention, she opened her mouth to tell them what had just happened when she realised that right now the last thing Hilary's friends needed was more mystery. She closed her mouth again deciding that she couldn't tell them what had just happened, not yet anyway.

"Are you ok?" Tyson asked

"Actually I'm not feeling too well" Millie told them, "it's all this crematorium stuff it's kinda creeping me out. Can we go home? I know you might want to stick around Tia"

"No" Tia shook her head "I'd prefer to get going I'll tell them we're heading home"

"Yeah thanks" Millie gave a slight smile but she was very uncomfortable. She waited with Tyson but didn't say anything about what had happened, she wasn't sure if she had done the right thing and she was even less sure as to her reasons for doing it. The only thing she was sure of was that something odd was going on and she was going to find out what it was.

--

"Your son Martin is here to see you"

The voice crackled a little over the intercom and Horatio leant forward pressing a button saying curtly "Send him in" Horatio sat back in his chair carefully schooling his features into a believable look of sympathy and grief.

Waiting patiently in his office Horatio wondered how his son would have reacted to the 'accidental' early cremation, he had been annoyed to discover that the Tatibana's weren't the only ones here. Outside he had recognised Tia and Tyson immediately but he wasn't sure how much they knew about him and what Hilary had been up to. Luckily enough they had been too busy talking to even notice him, still he did wonder how much they actually knew. He knew that Tia had been hurt in the chase but he didn't know how much she knew about why the chase had happened.

Finally his son came bursting through the doors looking pale but his eyes flashed with anger.

"Martin, what's happened?" he asked feigning surprise

"There was some sort of mix up and she was cremated just a few hours ago" Martin flung himself into a chair, his eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot, he was paler than ever before and the dark circles under his arms honestly proclaimed that he hadn't slept properly since all this started.

"Oh my god" Horatio looked suitably shocked "well what have you said to them? Do you want me to do anything, is there anything I can do?"

"No" he shook his head sorrowfully "there's nothing that can be done, we're still having the funeral there tomorrow but the cremation has already happened. Abi was very upset but we'll both be alright."

"Of course" Horatio nodded trying to look understanding, "You don't look like you've been sleeping well, are you?"

"I'm not" Martin shook his head angrily "It's so stupid, when she was alive I never really knew what she was up to, she got kidnapped more times than a Bond girl, she was involved with so many near death experiences I was beginning to wonder if she had nine lives and somehow… for some reason I never really worried. It's only now that I've lost her that I'm losing any sleep over her. I should have been there for her more, I should have insisted that either Abi or myself took time off or stayed in the country" as Martin said this last bit he buried his head in his hands and sighed.

"You can't blame yourself"

"Who else is there?"

"Well…." there was a long pause as both men thought about everything that had happened.

"Mr Tatibana?" the intercom interrupted them and both men instinctively jumped up and pressed the button and answered.

"Yes?" they smiled at each other, this wasn't the first time they had done this.

"Mr **Horatio **Tatibana." the amused secretary put extra emphasis on the first name "There is a Mr Voltaire Hiwatari, on the line for you"

"Thank you" Horatio picked up the phone and said pleasantly "Just a moment Voltaire" he then turned back to his son "I'm sorry do you mind if I take this? Or was there more you wanted to say?"

"Father I thought you had cut off all communication with that man"

Martin was disapproving in the extreme but Horatio smiled a little pathetically replying "My dear son, he is my oldest friend and when he heard of our loss he got in touch."

"I see" Martin's tone was still very stern and it was obvious that he didn't support the friendship.

"Hilary is gone now, it's not like he can hurt her anymore is it?"

"But you forgive him for what he did to Brady?" he didn't bother to keep the hatred from his eyes now "And how do you know he had nothing to do with Hilary's death?"

"If you remember correctly he needed her alive, he would never have put her in a position where she would get hurt."

Horatio was calm as he answered his son… too calm by Martins standards. "Father…..?"

"Yes?" Horatio seemingly un-phased by the dirty looks he had gotten merely smiled at his son

For a split second Martin wondered how he could ask his father the questions running through his mind. He knew that his father was not the good and benevolent man he was often thought to be, he had found that out long ago but….

"It's nothing dad" Martin shrugged.

What had he been going to ask anyway? 'Hey dad did you and your friend do any more of your crazy experiments recently?' yeah that would go down well, how about 'Dad did you hurt Hilary before she died?'

No, as much as it pained him to do so Martin knew that for his own and his remaining family's safety he would have to let the subject drop. Asides from anything else he needed his family around him, supporting him and after all what could his father or his fathers distinctly devious friend do to Hilary now?

"I better get back to Abi"

Martin left the room still oozing disapproval and as soon as he was gone Horatio lifted the phone to his ear "Voltaire I told you not to call me at work" he tried to sound casual but inside he was seething, right now while he was still in Japan one wrong move could result in all his plans failing.

"_We had a problem with my little houseguest_."

Horatio sat up straight, that interested him "What kind of problem?" he asked suspiciously

"_She managed to blow the electricity, everything went down she would have gotten away if not for the dogs."_

Dogs? That didn't sound good. "Injuries?" Horatio questioned cautiously.

_"A few minor scratches nothing major, she managed to climb up out of the way of the dogs but it meant she was trapped. We'll have to keep her restrained fully now"_

Horatio sighed before nodding assent, then realising he couldn't be seen he hissed "Alright but try to do your job properly this time. Do not let her escape." He hung up the phone slamming it down angrily. He was keeping his end of the deal damn it! Why couldn't his friend keep his?

--

Sitting in the dark that night Millie was at her computer looking up the name Ian Batat, she found nothing about him in connection to any anything in the Tatibana Inc files. She was frustrated, it was three in the morning and she had to get to a funeral in seven hours, just recently she had become used to getting a full eight hours of sleep a night and her body was no longer used to staying up this late. Rubbing her eyes she wondered if she should give up and then it happened, she was studying the personnel files and found something. She had wondered who I. Batat could be and all sorts of names had occurred to her but there he was Ian Batat, curious she opened the file, Ian was on a wage of £35,000 a year, he was a diabetic-type 2, he had taken a three week holiday every year of his employment and had been employed there for twelve years. There was unfortunately no mention on anything else really, it was a standard employee file.

Wondering if she was just clutching at straws Millie tapped her fingers on he desk, she browsed the file again but annoyed when she got no further help she printed off the information. And carefully exited the page making sure to close the door behind her so no one would ever know she had been there.

Studying the paper Millie began to doodle, she drew pound and dollar signs by the annual salary information, she drew a beach scene where it talked about holidays and holiday pay flowers next to the information about sick days, she was just wondering what to draw near the personal information when she paused.

Going back to the sick days she read it carefully, this man was an employee with all the history, he took his holiday, he even had a medical problem that the company was helping him pay for if he needed insurance but…. He had never taken a sick day. Twelve years of employment and this person had never taken a sick day. Of course he could be the perfect employee….?

This led her to whisper the very simple but important question "Did Ian even exist?"

"Who's Ian?" Millie jumped as the arms went around her neck and the question was asked

"Max!" she exhaled sharply "you frightened me"

"Sorry, I woke up and you weren't there" he kissed her cheek "so… who's Ian and why doesn't he exist?"

"That was a private conversation between me and me! And it's nothing just a bit of research for something."

"Something's wrong" Max studied his girlfriends face "why are you up so late?"

"I just… needed a distraction, I hate funerals and what with all this stuff at the crematorium today" Millie hated lying to her boyfriend but she wasn't sure what she hated most, the fact that she was lying to him or the fact that he believed her so easily.

Max nodded "Tia says you're worried about meeting Hilary's grandfather after all you heard about him, are going to be ok with that? Are you still ok to come?"

"Of course I'm still OK to come! I'm fine." Millie reassured him "Besides I'm not there for him, I'm there for you."

"Thank you, I love you so much" his bright blue eyes sparkled as he told her this and Millie couldn't help but smile

"I love you too, go back to bed I'll be there in a moment. I'll put Ian Batat to bed and then I'll come" Millie shrugged deciding that she was just trying to find an explanation where there wasn't one.

"Ian Batat, unusual name, spelt b-a-t-a-t right?" he asked Millie nodded "Huh" Max shrugged "his name's an anagram of Tatibana" he dropped another kiss on her head and headed off to bed. "don't stay up too late"

Millie stared down at the letters on the page and was shocked, Max was right. The name Ian Batat could be rearranged to Tatibana. How had she not noticed that?

Because you weren't looking for it, her mind told her, Max is a word search and scrabble freak, he see's patterns in letters you don't. Happy that the problem was a little bit closer to being solved and that there definitely something to be looked at as far as Ian was concerned Millie placed the papers into her laptop bag and put away her computer.

* * *

Come on people honest opinions here!!! What do you think? I think it's dumb but thats just me!!

Please R&R


	3. Funeral

Ok so here's the ever tragic funeral chapter that usually comes at the end of a story! Controversial huh??

I apologise for how short this one is.

I do not own Beyblade, Coldplay or Bruce Springsteen any song I may mention here (Wish I did I'd be worth a bundle!)

* * *

The richer ancient Egyptians would be buried in a sarcophagus, the sarcophagus would be incredibly ornate and designed in a way that depicted the person inside, the Vikings were known for placing the bodies of dead heroes and warriors on a boat and after setting fire to it letting it set sail. The ancient Greeks were big fans of a funeral pyre, a large fire set up by the family of the deceased in order to honour their dead relative.

These were the thoughts running through Tia's head as she sat beside Hilary's cousin Shane in the large black car on the way to the crematorium. Looking up at him she was surprised by how still his face was, how relaxed he seemed, she felt near to tears and he was sitting there looking for all the world as though he were simply on his way to an unpleasant day at work. Sighing she turned her head to stare out of the window, her mind returned to the unpleasant theme of burial procedures.

When buying a coffin, or casket as they have more recently become known as there is a lot to consider. The Tatibana family had taken their time picking out a casket that had a mock reed design, a basket casket as one of Hilary's cousins had joked, the lining had been of white satin and on top they had wanted white lilies.

It would have looked beautiful at the funeral but unfortunately due to the 'mistake' at the crematorium that was all gone now and a small silver coloured urn would stand at the front in place of the coffin.

A tissue was thrust into her hand before she had even realised she was crying, looking back at Shane she was surprised to see his handsome face filled with concern, she gave a slight smile and he nodded reassured that she was going to get through today. Tia was determined to be strong…, well she hoped she could be.

It was the one occasion Kenny had ever been to and not insisted on bringing his laptop along. As the bespectacled boy sat down in the chair beside Tyson he noticed that Ray, Mariah and Lee were on the same row as them. They gave each other small nods of recognition before turning their attention back to the order of service they had been given at the door. Kenny was just leafing through the booklet when he felt someone sit down beside him, at first he hadn't recognised the girl beside him but when Max sat down next to her he realised that it was Millie. She wore large sunglasses that covered most of her face and her unruly hair was pulled back into a plait like she had worn when he first saw her. She looked almost as though she was in disguise, that's when Kenny remembered what Tyson had told him about Millie saying she was having trouble dealing with all this funeral stuff and guessed that she didn't want people to see her if she broke down. Part of him was glad for once that he wore such thick glasses, at least this was no one would notice straight away when he cried.

Distracted from his reading Kenny began to look around, the place was really filling up now, there were a lot of Beybladers and people he recognised from the BBA. He also noticed a few old classmates that he hadn't seen in years, then he saw the one person they had all been on the look out for.

"Kai's here" he hissed to Tyson

The entire row heard him and turned to look for their friend. Kai walked quietly down the aisle in the centre of the room, for the first time since the death he looked like he had actually made an effort in his dressing. He wore a simple dark suit with a white shirt and black tie. His hair was back to it's old style and the bruises on his face seemed to have cleared up. Behind him Renaldo and the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys were quietly following waiting for Kai to find his place before deciding where they would go. Seeing the row with his friends Kai faltered and finally slipping into the row in front of them took a seat in front of Ray. This circumstance left Ian in front of Kenny, it really surprised him when Ian turned around and gave him a small smile, Kenny responded in kind. It was odd but thanks to Hilary these two teams with so much history and so many differences had become friends.

Everyone seemed to have found seats when behind them music started up and Hilary's family walked in. Her grandfather was a the front and a wave of anger seemed to overtake their two rows. If it had been a panto he could imagine a lot of hissing and booing would have started up. Next came her parents then her brothers and finally a large amount of other miscellaneous family, some of them Kenny recognised but most of them were new to him. In amongst all the cousins and aunts and uncles walked Tia. She looked very pale and as she passed their row he could feel Tyson lean forward to catch her eye, Tia looked over at them and gave a small brave smile.

Kenny sighed it would be a long service.

It was at the end after a long and drawn out eulogy from Hilary's eldest brother that Tia finally stood up. She made her way to the podium and gave a watery smile

"Hello everyone, I have known Hilary since we were both four years old, we fought and argued a lot but mostly we were just there for each other. She was the best friend anyone could have and I know for a fact that anything I say now couldn't do her justice. Her family asked me to pick an ending song, they wanted Coldplay's Fix You but it has that line about 'lights will guide you home and ignite your bones,' I didn't think it suited a cremation somehow. So I talked at length with her boyfriend, and we spoke of a song that suited how we feel, I was gonna play it but… I decided on a song that she loved. This isn't the most traditional thing to play at a funeral but I think those of you that knew her well will agree with me that Hilary would have enjoyed this" Tia nodded to someone on her left and the faint beginning chords of Bruce Springsteen's Born to run started up.

Kenny felt himself begin to chuckle as he thought about what Hilary's reaction would have been, truthfully she would have preferred a song about cheerfulness, she had once joked that she wanted 'wake me up before you go-go' at her funeral or 'Walking on Sunshine' still this song seemed to suit the mood better. Looking over at Kai he watched as the tall body in front of Ray began to sag, a slight shudder ran through him.

--

If he was honest Kai actually preferred the fact that she had already been cremated, he wouldn't have been able to handle seeing her again and when they closed those curtains to hide the coffin as they all left he wasn't sure how he would have reacted knowing that his girlfriends body was about to burn.

When he heard the song that he had spoken to Tia about start up he felt himself sink lower in the chair he felt cold and was unable repress the convulsion that went through him. Immediately from behind him a hand was placed on his shoulder, he didn't need to even look at it to know that it was Mariah's. It was odd but though he usually disliked too much contact he felt very comforted and placed his hand over her soft one letting her know that he appreciated it.

--

The Tatibana family had arranged a large wake after the funeral but none of the beyblading crowd really felt like attending. Instead they gathered at the beach celebrating their friend's life with a BBQ that was filled with laughter and conversations filled with memories.

Kai wasn't there, after the funeral he and Renaldo had disappeared refusing to say where they were going and what they were doing. In truth no one wanted to ask them any questions, anyone that knew Kai knew that his mind would be running on revenge for a while, none of them wanted to get in Kai's way but also none of them wanted to know what was happening so that when questioned they could safely deny all knowledge.

Millie stood a little way away from the party thinking hard, she had not shared her recent discoveries with anyone but she wasn't sure why. Why hadn't she told them? Millie shook her head and sighed, she looked over at Max for about the hundredth time and realised the answer to her question. Hope. False hope, she was afraid to give the group of people that she had come to care for a sense of something more when there could be some stupid petty reason behind it all.

But as far as she could see there was only one reason why a person would arrange to have a body cremated before it was supposed to be and that was to cover something up. What though? They had all seen the autopsy report, Kai had seen the body and what more could there possibly have been to cover up? If only she could get another look at that report without alerting Horatio Tatibana to the fact that she was suspicious.

Still that gave her something else to consider, should she just forget about it all?

Looking down at her hands she pondered what Hilary would want her to do, Hilary would want answers and wouldn't waste time getting them but… Hilary didn't like getting people involved unnecessarily. 'Perhaps' Mille thought…'perhaps I could look into this by myself'

"Hey Millie!" Max waved to her "You want a burger?"

"Please!" she waved back and walked to meet Max as he brought her food over.

"I got you ketchup"

"You went to all that trouble for me?" she joked taking the food from him and kissing his cheek

"I'd do anything for you" he told her jokingly but there was serious look in his eyes that made her smile.

"You're so sweet" she slipped her arm through his and together they started to wander back to the group, she was only half listening to her boyfriend as he talked about what was going on but then he said something that grabbed her attention

"…I mean he read that report so many times he could probably quote it by heart but he had to have a copy made as well. I think Kai's really losing it. Renaldo says he'll keep…."

"Wait" Millie stopped walking and stared at Max "Kai has a copy of the autopsy report?"

"Yeah he photocopied it…why?"

"Oh…I just find it odd that's all." she smiled at him before slipping her arm around his waist and continuing back to the group by the BBQ

--

Kai and Renaldo were attending the official wake, they stayed together for the whole thing with Kai pointing out who the important people were and who else might need following. Every time his gaze fell on Horatio Tatibana he felt angry, what he wouldn't give to just pull out a gun and aim for that man. Unfortunately Renaldo hadn't provided his gun yet, still he would get his chance.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Shane staring at him, he hadn't forgotten what Shane had said the day they stood in the morgue, and he would never forget what Shane had asked him to do. Turning to face Hilary's cousin he stared back, Kai wasn't really known for looking for the good in people but the betrayal of Shane, the way he was able to just walk away from this as though Hilary had died a normal death shocked Kai.

Watching the group of mourners Renaldo made a note of who was who on Hilary's family tree, he had easily worked out who the grandfather was and subsequently dispatched one of his 'employees' to follow him. He then scouted for other likely candidates. As Renaldo looked around the room he noticed that one brunette looked particularly careless, the man in question had a blonde on his arm and was standing drinking whisky. Nudging Kai Renaldo hissed "Who's the guy over there, with the blonde?"

Kai stared and frowned for a moment, he knew that face, then he remembered he ha seen him when Hilary had found out that Ianto was missing "That's Jake, one of the cousins" he whispered back

"And…what do we know about him?"

"He's an anomaly" Kai admitted "seemed to hate Hilary but…" he thought back to what Hilary had told him about Jake and music "I don't know, he could be for either side"

"I'll keep tabs on him"

--

Horatio Tatibana sighed as he removed his black jacket and tie, it had been a long day and he was in desperate need of a whisky. Pouring himself a drink he picked up the phone and dialled a number. As he waited for the other end to pick up he kicked off his shoes

"_Hello?"_

"Voltaire, it's me"

"_Horatio, how was it?" _for a moment Voltaire sounded genuinely concerned

Not showing any emotion Horatio sounded cold as he responded "It was tough, but it's over now."

"_Yeah, so how long before you get here?"_

"Tomorrow, I'll head out first thing…by the way" he paused

"_What?"_

"Your grandson was there"

"_Well we knew they were dating, it was to be expected that…"_

"No" Horatio cut in "That's not why I'm mentioning it"

"_What's wrong?"_

"I was followed home today, I'm guessing he and that little friend of his Renaldo are behind it all"

"_You think they know?" _Voltaire felt a sense of urgency as he asked the question

"No, he was upset, at the funeral he looked upset"

"_And he showed it?"_ Voltaire laughed _"I guess she really got to him!"_

"I think revenge is a the forefront of his mind right now, my guessing is he's looking to hurt someone, how's the prisoner holding up?"

"_Tough, she's fighting everything we say or do, I can't wait till tomorrow when we can start everything properly and move her somewhere a little more secure"_

"Neither can I, every thing will be easier when I'm there and we can do this properly. I'll be there soon… as long as that grandson of yours doesn't give us any trouble."

"_We'll just have to make sure he doesn't follow you here" _suddenly Voltaire felt ridiculously annoyed _"Why can't he just grieve like a normal person?"_

"Must have something to do with his upbringing" Horatio joked "we did screw him up pretty badly"

"_Yes, well as long as he doesn't know everything we'll be alright, I'll see you tomorrow"_

Both men hung up the phone feeling different levels of worry, each one had the same reasons to worry but they individually recognised further problems that they would face in the future.

--

In Japan Horatio sat back in his armchair knocking back his drink, he was mostly worried about Kai, there was no denying that the young man could cause more problems than they had foreseen but he did have a contingency plan for that. He put down his glass and picked up a book, he'd worry more about it in the morning before he flew out to join his friend.

--

In Russia after Voltaire Hiwatari had hung up the phone he began to walk out of his room and down the corridor musing certain difficulties as he went he soon found himself standing outside the last room of the house. Smiling he nodded to the two guards who stood on either side and they opened the door.

The room Voltaire entered was cold and dark, there was no electricity in this room, they had been forced to remove the light fittings and sockets after the occupant of this room almost managed an escape by blowing the entire house's electricity and in the process turning off the security cameras and alarm systems. Only the moonlight that streamed in through the barred windows gave him any source of light as he surveyed the room.

Even if there had been no light he knew where she would be, after all she had attempted escape so any times that they had been forced to handcuff her to the bed.

"Hilary?" he whispered teasingly watching as the figure on the bed suddenly sat up, he watched her move fearfully away from him "I'm not going to hurt you" he promised "I just have something to tell you."

"Tell me, then get out" the voice was hoarse but still had an edge to it. Sitting on the bed Hilary glared at her jailer wishing that she could move across the room and hurt him. If she wasn't fastened here by these god-awful cuffs she would be attacking him right now.

"Very polite…I'm here to tell you that your grandfather will be here tomorrow, we'll be moving you somewhere else, somewhere a little more comfortable."

The resilient edge Hilary had always been known for gleamed through as she looked at him, he looked so bloody triumphant she was stung into saying "My friends won't leave me here, they'll come looking for me"

Voltaire laughed, it was a mocking laugh that made his prisoner tense up even more "No…, no they won't come looking for you. You see Hilary, you're dead"

Hilary laughed "They won't just let it lie, they'll want to see a body, they won't just believe that I'm dead"

"Oh but they have seen a body, there's a reason why we waited a few weeks before coming for you again. We needed to ensure that there would be no more heroics from my idiot grandson. We cloned you, we worked for three weeks so we could clone you. Our process is not yet refined but… the clone is a perfect copy."

"What do you mean? What do you mean not yet refined?" Hilary asked trying to get her head around what was going on

"Well the clones we make only live for an hour at most, but it was long enough for us, we cloned you, then we killed you…. It…, the clone."

"Oh my god" Hilary whispered leaning back against the headboard, she suddenly felt terrified, everything else she had been through before had been bad but now….now they weren't even looking for her. She was dead to the world, alone with no real chance of escape. No one was going to come and save her this time.

She stared at her captor, watching the sick smile that had fixed itself on his features grow wider.

"What the hell do you even want me for?" she asked nervously

"You'll soon find out" was the only response she received and somehow it made her feel even more afraid.

Jutting out her chin she glared at the old man determined not to lose face in front of the man she had grown to despise with her whole being "You won't get away with this, I **will **get out of here and when I do you'll regret everything you've done to me, Kai and everyone else that I care about."

"I can't wait"

As he left the room Voltaire grinned, that had been fun, it had been so long since he had watched someone's face be completely drained of hope and happiness that he had forgotten how good it felt. Still she was determined to make all this as difficult as possible, he hadn't broken her yet. Whistling happily he walked down the corridor.

--

As soon as she was sure that Voltaire was gone Hilary allowed her façade to crumble, tears welled up and pricked at her eyes. Truth be told she had been failing for quite some time, her last escape attempt to escape had been terrifying. The dogs that attacked her had caused her to feel more panic than ever before and she was beginning to run out of ideas. She had tried to contact the outside world, she had tried to fool them into thinking she was ill, she had even cut all the vitamin C out of her diet hiding the necessary food so she looked ill but it hadn't worked. Of course it hadn't helped that Horatio and Voltaire had doctors working for them.

Fusing the electricity had been her best scheme but it's ultimate failure now meant she was even more trapped.

Curling up as best she could on the bed Hilary pulled at the cuff on her wrist, she had tried to remove it but fiddling with the lock had done nothing and it was too tight to even consider slipping it off.

Staring at the ceiling Hilary sighed wondering about her future, she was still unsure of why she had been brought here. They refused to explain why they had brought her here but while being examined she had overheard two of the scientists talking about her reproductive abilities. It freaked her out a little, just what in the hell were they planning to do to her?

* * *

Ha, ok so she's not dead. I have said it once I'll say it again, I am no good at killing people off! Of course this was kind of planned, lets face it you can't have a KaiHil without the Hil!!

To the many people who hated that I killed her I hope you're happy now! If not then please make your mind up!!

Anyone that thinks this was a sell out I promise that it isn't! I truly planned all this and if anyone complains I will send you a long message proving to you how this all works and where the seeds of this story are placed in the previous story. There will be more evidence for this later in the story though, so try to keep an open mind!

Having said all that please R&R honestly


	4. Investigations

Hi-diddly-ho readerino's

Sorry I'm watching The Simpson's as I write this.

Right I've changed this story's details now so it has definitely become a KaiHil. I was going to do it before but I didn't want to spoil the surprise too early on!!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

By the way quick reminder of some of my oc's!!

Brady: Hilary's uncle, scientist good guy forced to work for bad guys!!

Samantha: Brady's wife, scientist, occasionally called Sam, only involved in all this because of Brady

Sammy - Brady and Samantha's son, four years old.

* * *

Renaldo wasn't surprised to discover that he wasn't the only one watching Horatio Tatibana and keeping tabs on his movements. One of his undercover men had discovered a transmitter within the house, it was government standard issue apparently. And that wasn't all another device was discovered but this one was a make more commonly associated with the British government, Renaldo had been expecting the local authorities to at least be aware of Horatio's crminal dealings but he was amazed that they weren't the only country interested. MI5/MI6 they suspected but they couldn't exactly go calling up the British government and ask why they were watching this man.

Renaldo wasn't surprised when five cars left Horatio Tatibana's house that day, five cars going in five different directions. He knew that Horatio would have guessed that he and Kai were following him. Each car had a tail and a transmitter attached. The plan was to follow the cars but also to send in a worker to search the place in order to get any and all information that he could find.

Renaldo wasn't surprised that each of the five cars drove along odd routes trying to lose it's follower, he had been prepared for that hence the transmitters attached to the vehicles.

Renaldo wasn't at all surprised of the five cars that left most of them went to a travel departure point, two headed to the airport, one headed to the docks, one just kept going until it reached the next town and stopped and the final car just boarded a ferry and sat there.

Renaldo was surprised however to discover that of those five cars Horatio wasn't in a single one of them.

He wasn't looking forward to revealing to Kai that they had lost their only chance of finding Voltaire.

In all honesty he couldn't understand how an elderly man could simply slip through his fingers, he had three people watching the house, he was currently blackmailing about five of the members of house staff and a dozen people in Horatio's actual offices. He knew that Horatio had announced that he would be taking some time off but he knew nothing more than that. Thinking carefully he decided that the best thing he could do right now was get in touch with his 'contacts' at the various banks, maybe he'd be lucky and Horatio had slipped up somehow… he doubted it though.

Horatio Tatibana was cold, calculating and as a result incredibly thorough.

--

Horatio had left the house early in the morning as the pool cleaners van left carrying him hidden in the back. It wasn't Horatio Tatibana's most dignified moment but it was the easiest plan in the grand scheme of things.

With a false name and passport it was easy to board a plane to Russia completely unnoticed, he had told his family that he was going away for a while to clear his head after the 'tragedy' and his sons were more than willing to take on the mantle. Horatio had been controlling the business and everything that happened in it for too long and the idea that he would be gone for a while had offered his grieving family some relief.

In truth Horatio didn't intend on ever returning, he and Voltaire finally had things going their way. It was the first time since the abbey that the two men felt assured of their success.

Soon they would be able to create the perfect blader.

--

Brady had spent the majority of his life as a prisoner, he had begun working for his father and his partner Voltaire at the age of seventeen, he was now thirty six. He had to admit that at first he had been unaware of his status as prisoner but that didn't change anything in his mind. He had been a prisoner for over half his life, actually it wasn't that preying on his mind right now, what was driving him crazy was his son. At the age of four his son had never known true freedom, it reminded him of those signs you see in zoo's 'Born in captivity'. He seriously doubted that his son would ever live a normal life especially with the new deal he had recently made with his father.

The little male brunette of course knew no different, his four years had been mainly indoors, he was allowed outside every now and then they all were but Brady was well aware of the snipers and barbed wire that prevented him from even thinking of escape. Not that he thought of escape much anymore, his mind had grown tired of formulating plans that would never come to fruition.

Looking away from his son Brady began to consider the new prisoner that now joined them on their picnics outside. It was all part of his fathers plan to have little Sammy accustomed to Hilary. Poor Hilary he knew that she'd been imprisoned for a while before she arrived here, she had spent a long time in an old house in Russia before Horatio and Voltaire had brought her here to their new facility. They had created a lab that looked suspiciously similar to the one that had been part of the abbey just minus the ridiculously large test tubes. He had no real idea where they were just that they were in Russia, further north than they had been last time meaning it would get even colder in the winter.

Hilary. She had never mentioned what had happened between them before and (to his relief) she had never told his wife what he had done.

Unlike him her mind was always active, always thinking of escape, even when she pretended to play with Sammy her eyes would stray to the large hedges hiding the barbed wire fence just beyond. Every now and then her eyes would alight on something that gave her an idea and he could almost see the cogs working away in her mind as she tried to think about it all.

She was determined to escape and he didn't have the heart to tell her it was impossible, the mark around her wrist from where she had obviously been handcuffed to something proved that. She told him about her various escape attempts and they had obviously caused them a lot of trouble…., she was still willing to give them a lot more. He smiled briefly but then he remembered what was going to happen today. He had known that this day was coming but he wasn't looking forward to it, if anything he was praying for some sort of intervention

Today Hilary would lose her memories.

--

"I can't believe he lost us so easily!" Kai exclaimed glowering at Renaldo "He could be anywhere right now!"

"I know" Renaldo tried to placate his friend but knew it was going to be nigh in impossible. "Look the minute we get a lead on any of them…"

"No" Kai yelled angrily "That's not good enough and you know it."

"Yeah I do" Renaldo nodded but while he knew it wasn't good enough there wasn't much else he could do. Boris had been out of their range for a while, Horatio Tatibana had disappeared the day after the funeral, Voltaire hadn't been seen since…well actually he hadn't seen Voltaire at all this time. They were still keeping feelers out for Lando and Kendall but neither boy had been seen or heard of since the night of the kidnapping, the police had searched long and hard for another body in the water where they had found Hilary but so far nothing had shown up

Kai was starting to get really frustrated now, it had been far too long since they had last seen Horatio. He had somehow managed to evade them and now it seemed unlikely that he was still in the country.

--

"Grandfather?" Hilary stared fearfully at the man who stood staring at her, he had entered her tiny cell a dark threatening look on his face. She was nervous as hell but she was hoping to get some answers so she wasn't going to attack him….not yet.

"Hello my dear" his voice was silky smooth like always and it made her feel even more nervous.

"What the hell is going on?" her voice was steady but she had never felt more afraid

"If I tell you I get the feeling that you'll get angry"

"I won't…" she shook her head slowly

"Well there's really no point in telling you" he shrugged carelessly "this time tomorrow you won't even remember your own name never mind what I'm about to tell you"

"What?" she was confused, she had no clue what he was on about, he actually sounded rather crazy

"It's simple my dear" Horatio shrugged again "we have a plan for you, of course we know that you won't be agreeable to our plan so we have had a friend concoct a little something to make you compliant"

"Compliant??"

"Yes compliant, easy going, submissive, amenable, acquiescent, bidd...."

"I know what compliant means! I'm just wondering why you need me compliant"

He sighed deciding that he may as well tell her some of what was about to happen "We need you for something…no that's not right… we need your body for something"

"You're not making any sense"

"No I suppose I'm not"

"Can't you just tell me in plain English what you're panning to do with me?" she shouted getting frustrated with the mans inability to answer a question properly

"I'm afraid not, it's rather a long story, the thing you need to know is that tomorrow you won't remember anything"

"Why not?"

"Because we have discovered a way to remove memories"

Hilary sat in stunned silence, she couldn't believe what he was saying "You're going to remove my memories?"

"Yes It'll be like amnesia, only more controlled"

Again there was another silence as Hilary processed what she had been told, finally she managed to stammer out "Are…Are you r-really that heartless?"

"Not heartless as such, more uninterested in your wellbeing "

"Grandfather" she looked at him completely shocked, how could it be that he was so cruel. She had accepted that he wasn't a good person but that he could be so merciless really surprised her. Staring into his cold eyes she realised that he was speaking the truth, then it hit her, this was why Voltaire had found her promise of more escape attempts so amusing, why Brady didn't even start to talk about the future they had both known this was coming "Grandpa please" Hilary began to cry

"Oh Hilary" he smiled indulgently "perhaps if you had been a little less independent I would consider doing this another way but you had to be so individual and self-sufficient. That's why we're doing it this way, believe it or not I do care for you, I'm more proud of you than of any of your cousins or uncles. I'll leave you alone for a few minutes while we get everything ready" he left the room slamming the door behind him

Hilary ran at the door banging on it with her fists "GRANDFATHER" she desperately yelled after the man "Don't do this!"

For a while she continued to beat her fists against the door but as she got no response she gave up sliding to the floor exhausted with all that was happening. Tears rolled down her face as she thought of all the memories she would lose, her wonderful childhood full of happiness and fun. The time she had spent with her friends, oh god her friends. She had only just started to have fun in life, she had so much to do, so many plans. To think that they would all be wiped out in a little while, she would never remember any of it. All her memories of Kai would be gone, she could see him and never know who he was.

--

"This is completely harmless right Dr Wingblade?" Voltaire turned to his favourite employee and gave him a hard look. Dr Wingblade was a wonderful person to have as part of this enterprise, he was a cold and cruel man who saw people as a chance for scientific research instead of human beings.

"Completely harmless" the doctor nodded filling a hypodermic with an evil looking green liquid. "It's a cocktail of harmless chemicals, not only will she have no memories and it's got a sedating quality that will keep her quiet and receptive."

In the background Brady and his wife watched carefully, all they could do for Hilary at this point was make sure she wasn't harmed during the procedure. When Brady heard about the seating quality he felt his arms tighten, he really wanted to do something but he knew that whatever he tried to do now would only cause problems. All he could do was wait and hope.

"Keep her quiet?" Voltaire asked "surely with the loss of her memories she will be perfectly controllable."

"I doubt it" Horatio had joined them now "Neither of you two know her like I do. I believe that her independent streak will come through no matter what."

"I don't know about that," the Dr paused considering this probability "it will make an interesting test subject. Before the people this was tested on were all pretty submissive she still has fight in her. I shall study her carefully"

"Do you have to sedate her?" Brady couldn't help it, he had to jump in. Not even his wife's arm on his arm gently restraining him seemed to hold the words back

"It is the only sure way to keep her here." Horatio looked though the window where his granddaughter lay strapped to the table. For a brief moment before they had started this up he had spoken to her and for a split second he felt as though he was talking to his late wife, Hilary was so like her grandmother, the fact that she had been named after her only added to the sense of guilt threatening to overcome him.

--

"Brady" Hilary whispered as he entered the room holding the needle

"I'm sorry Hilary there's nothing else I can do to help you, I persuaded them to let me do it so I could make it as painless as possible, Dr Wingblade is a masochist"

"Thanks" Hilary was still whispering, she wasn't sure why but she carried on keeping her voice low, it kind of suited her mood. "I know it's not your fault Brady. It's Ok really"

"Thanks" he swabbed gently at her arm making sure the area was completely clean, he looked up at her face briefly his expression apologetic but she gave him a weak smile. As soon as he was done Brady was quick to leave the room, he felt so guilty despite Hilary's obvious absolution for his crimes.

Hilary had watched as her uncle injected her with the serum, now she just lay there unable to move trying desperately to fight the clouds overtaking her mind. She tried to think of things, tried to remember good memories but even as she thought of them they slipped away leaving her feeling void and unnecessary.

Brady had left the room now and had returned to his position behind the men in control, they were now watching Hilary through the window waiting for the serum to take hold.

"Will she remember him injecting her?" Voltaire was interested to know "What will her oldest memory be?"

"She'll go into unconsciousness in a few minutes, she'll wake up in about three hours and remember nothing. Her past, who she is, it's all up to us. The best bit about it is how susceptible she'll be. We can tell her anything we want and she'll believe in. We could tell her that her name was Rumpelstiltskin and she'd believe us"

"No!" Horatio snapped "What we tell her about her past will be true…, up to a certain point"

"Have you thought about how to explain away the memory loss?"

"I do have a story arranged."

"What if she starts asking questions though?" Voltaire looked at the brunette, he didn't admit it but he had a certain amount of admiration for the girl who had been able to tame his grandson. He knew about Hilary and her quest for a cure for the Blitzkrieg boys "She is very persistent, she may discover the truth"

"I have arranged a cover story in case she asks questions, I have even arranged for certain evidence that can be brought forward. That's if she retains her personality, she may not." Horatio reminded him

"Well you thought she would" Boris said simply

"If that's the case we can just re-inject her with the serum" the doctor shrugged "we can use it on her more than once."

"And as long as everyone thinks she is dead there's no way they'll come looking for her. Really this plan is foolproof."

Behind them Brady had a slightly satisfied smile on his face as he whispered "Fool proof huh? Well Hilary's no fool"

--

Inside the room Hilary felt the darkness overtake her, she struggled against it desperately trying to stay awake, but she couldn't. She was desperately trying to remember things…anything no matter how important or pointless it may be. Her first kiss, her last birthday, her favourite colour, that time she Ray and Tyson had gone crazy golfing and his club had slipped and he had managed to knock out someone.

She thought of Mariah and Ray, they were such a perfect couple it was hard to believe it had taken them so long to get together. If it hadn't been for Hilary's 'meddling' they might never have started dating, she grinned as she remembered Mariah's visit to Japan and Hilary's subsequent interest in her and Ray. For a split second the scene where Ray had finally thrown caution to the wind and kissed Mariah flickered in her mind, the laughter from herself and Tyson at the shocked looks on both their faces. The scene began to fade but Mariah's figure stayed solid standing staring around. Instinctively she called out and Mariah looked up at her grinning as she called out Hilary's name. Hilary called back and then her friend was gone as suddenly as she had come.

It was all slipping though, the good memories… the bad… No!! She shook her head and tried to concentrate on stuff she really wanted to remember. The first time she kissed Kai, the first time she met him… well that wasn't such a good memory but it had Kai in it so it was an attractive. Wait…. why wasn't meeting Kai a good memory…why? She loved him surely the day she met him should be happy. She tried to picture Kai… his hair, unruly, two toned, way too damn attractive… his eyes… his eyes…his eyes? What colour were his eyes? Her head rolled drowsily to one side and before she disappeared into the black she whispered one word, a name.

"Kai"

--

Mariah sat on the floor of her hotel room eyes closed, cross-legged and silent. She shut off her mind to the outside world and thought of happy thoughts.

It had become a regular thing these days for her to shut herself away to meditate, the stress of her grief she had experienced recently was not good for the baby and she wanted to keep her mind free from painful thoughts for a while.

In her mind the world around her went white, there was nothing around her, nothing in sight. Slowly she looked around the whiteness and she inwardly smiled, soon Galux materialised beside her and standing she put one hand out to stroke her trusty bit beast.

The large cat responded to her touch in much the way a domestic one would bowing its head, before lying down on it's back and purring. Mariah laughed, she always felt so comforted here, so relaxed and happy, here there was no grief just a relaxed soothing silence.

'You miss her?' Galux's voice resonated in her mind

"Yes, of course I do" Mariah responded

'You will see her again some day'

"Maybe…" Mariah's head started to hurt, it wasn't hugely painful but it was a dull ache that started in her temples and radiated throughout her skull.

Looking around she was surprised to see herself standing in Japan, it was just a few years ago when she had first visited Japan for purely personal reasons. Ray had been going to visit his friends and had at last minute invited her along, Mariah hadn't been too keen until she remembered se wouldn't be the only girl as Hilary was going to be there. She and Hilary had become firm friends that holiday and Mariah had confessed to the brunette how much she liked Ray. Unbeknownst to Mariah Ray had been having similar discussions with Hilary about herself. Hilary spent most of her time telling the two of them to just confess to each other, both had refused. Finally Hilary decided to be sneaky about it setting Mariah up on a date to 'get her mind off Ray' and Mariah had agreed.

She had been picked up by a very attractive guy who went to school with Hilary, the two of them had a nice time until she saw Ray also on a date. Hilary had set him up with another friend to 'get his mind off Mariah' she had somehow got them both to go to the same restaurant. Ray had apparently watched her jealously all evening before leaving early and Mariah hadn't been able to stop herself shooting evil looks at Ray's girl but she was determined to enjoy her date.

When she got back to the dojo -a lot later than Ray- he had been waiting up giving her the big brother speech about guys. She had yelled back about him dating fangirls. The two of them had shouted at each other for about five minutes before just standing facing each other. They were both out of breath and red-faced when Ray had suddenly grabbed her into his arms and kissed her, she had been shocked but responded quickly, that had shocked Ray and he pulled away to stare at her.

"_Why did you…?"_

"_Why did you…?"_

"_I asked first"_

"_Well…" Mariah scuffed her shoe in the ground muttering "Ilikeyou"_

"_Oh…" Ray smiled "I like you too"_

"_Oh…"_

"_Um"_

_"What should we...?"_

_"What do we...?"_

"_JUST KISS HER AGAIN" Tyson yelled loudly from the doorway "and no more yelling it's waking up the whole neighbourhood"_

"_Shut up Ty" Hilary yelled at her friend joining him in the entryway "but he's right __**for once**__, just kiss each other you both want it!"_

"_Hilary!" Mariah blushed hiding her face in her hands_

"_Did you know this would happen?" Ray asked sounding annoyed_

_Ignoring Ray's threatening attitude Hilary and Tyson just looked at each other and laughed._

Mariah giggled as she watched the scene start to fade, it was a very happy memory in her mind and she loved to remember it. She looked around realising that Galux had left her side, she coudln't see him. She was about to give up looking and just go back to the real world when…

"MARIAH!"

Mariah turned immediately recognising the voice, she stared at the brunette standing in front of her a smile covered her face as she yelled

"HILARY!"

The two of them just gazed at each other and then Hilary's image flickered and was gone.

Mariah snapped out of her meditation an odd look on her face, this was the second time she had meditated and seen Hilary. Each time she saw the brunette she looked different from her memory's, her hair was longer, her skin was paler and her eyes had bags under them.

Shaking her head she stood and walked over to the window 'what the hell is going on' she muttered looking down at the beyblade in her hand.

- -

"Hi Kai" Millie smiled nervously at the blader, conversation had never been his strong point and he didn't look as though he was willing to break character. "I need a favour"

"Millie I don't have time…" Kai was about to close the door when Millie shoved her foot in the way and hissed

"Just let me talk." she had surprised both him and herself with her forcefulness, but she continued to talk angrily to make sure he listened "You want to know where Horatio Tatibana went right?" he nodded "You want to know if he flew anywhere, if he's in another country?" Another calm nod but she could see that his interest had peaked "That means you want to hack into the system and find out if he used his passport and flew anywhere, I can do that, **if **you do one tiny thing for me."

"Anything" Kai told her seriously opening the door wider

"I need to get another look at the post mortem report, Max said you made a copy"

"Why do you…?"

"Look you want my help you don't ask questions. Just let me do my work. Truth is Kenny could probably do this for you however…" Millie paused "I don't know how he'll operate at the moment, he misses Hilary too, he could make a mistake. I can promise I won't"

Kai stared at her for a moment and then nodded, he and Renaldo were having no luck in tracing his grandfather or Hilary's. Boris, Kendall and Lando seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth as well it was driving him crazy, all this time the only thing keeping him going was the thought of revenge without it he was losing his grip on sanity.

Moving back Kai allowed Millie into his room, after a few minutes hunting he produced the autopsy report and handed it over to her. Millie took it and smiled

"When are you and Renaldo next meeting up?"

"Tomorrow morning, five am, we'll pick you up at the hotel?"

"I'll be waiting." Millie turned and walked away pleased with this new development.

--

An attractive brunette awoke and found herself in a white room, everything was white, the chest of drawers, the wardrobe, the door, even the bed she was on. As she sat up and looked around she tried to think. Immediately she hit a problem, she began to panic as she tried to remember her name, it got even worse when she tried to remember where she was and why she was here.

Her breathing started to go funny 'Oh god had she forgotten how to breathe as well?' to her left the door opened and a man she had never seen before walked in, or at least she thought she had never seen him before

"Hilary?" Horatio came to stand by his granddaughters bed, he could see that she was starting to hyperventilate so sitting beside her he rubbed her back soothing her and eventually calming her down.

"What's going on?" Hilary…. (Apparently that was her name)…. asked as soon as she got her breath back

"Hilary, tell me what you remember."

"I don't even remember that I'm Hilary" she began to cry, she was soon surrounded by the mans comforting arms.

Horatio smiled as his granddaughter wept, it had worked! She remembered nothing. No more hopes and plans of escaping. No more questioning him unnecessarily. No more fear that she would somehow manage to get word out. It was like he was an artist, he would create for her a slightly altered past, he was in control of her present , and she would have whatever future he wanted.

It was all up to him.

* * *

One thing I like about this chapter is the way she has trouble remembering his eye colour, it changes so damn often it must be tricky!! I am saying he has grey eyes to make it easier on me later on but never mind!!

Now come on people, I know I have more readers than reviewers!!! You don't even have to sign in!!!!

PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW!


	5. 3:00 am

Wow I really begged for reviews last time… sorry, I've obviously become a review junkie. Thank you to all those who did review!!

I do not own Beyblade!!!

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Sighing loudly Mariah rolled over wrestling with the blankets in a fruitless endeavour to keep them over her and Ray without disturbing her boyfriend... Fiancé. (she was going to have to get used to calling him that eventually) Looking at the clock she wasn't surprised to see that it was three am. The sky outside was dark and all around her there was silence, everyone else was probably asleep…

"What's eating you?" Ray had been lying still for some time hoping that his girlfriend… fiancée (he was going to have to get used to calling her that eventually) would relax and drift off but he could tell now from the way she was breathing that she was upset. He couldn't see her expression in the dark, but he knew her well enough to tell when she was upset.

"Did I wake you?" Mariah asked sounding apologetic as she rolled over to face him, she could just make out his prone body in the dimness

"Twice" he responded smiling in the darkness "I should have asked you what was wrong the first time. So..." he shifted in the bed sitting up and switching on the bedside lamp "Want to talk about it?"

"No"

"Liar"

"Ray it's pointless talking about it" she sat up and faced him "It's just…" she stopped looking miserable

It almot broke Ray's heart to see her so sad so he shifted closer to her "Tell me" he urged taking her hand in his and smiling sympathetically "it might make you feel better."

"Ok, you remember a few days before the funeral when I told you about my meditating and what I saw during it?"

"Yes…" Ray nodded slightly guardedly "you saw Hilary"

Mariah saw the change in his expression and she pulled her hand away from his "Well it happened again. I saw her"

"Mariah you're hanging onto your memories of her while you med…"

"No" Mariah shook her head determinedly "it started out as a memory but then I saw her and she looked…. Different. There were bags under her eyes, she was pale, tired, her hair was longer and in serious need of a wash, plus she was wearing this grey tracksuit type of thing. Hilary would never wear a grey tracksuit."

"Ok" Ray nodded "but what do you honestly think this all means?"

"I…" Mariah paused shaking her head "I don't know but…" silence settled over them as Mariah tried to think it all through in her head. She didn't know what to think of her visions but she knew Galux wouldn't help her to see things that had no meaning. She got angrier as she turned to look at Ray again, he was gazing at her pityingly "Don't look at me like that!!"

"Mariah, it's grief"

"No" Mariah shook her head determinedly "It can't just be that, I may not understand what this means but it's not just grief."

Ray placed an hand on her shoulder leaning in closer "Kai saw her body, he looked at her face and…"

"I know all that" Mariah sighed shrugging him off "You see? This is why I didn't tell you" She lay back down on her bed rolling to face away from him. "Never mind, you don't understand"

"I want to" Ray whispered lying down next to her and trying to hug her despite her pushing him away "Mariah look at me" reluctantly she turned to face him. "I want to understand… but it's like I lost a sister, it's hard… I've never really lost anyone that close to me before… Even when I left you guys behind in the village I still knew you were all ok, I even had occasional contact with some people. This time I really lost someone"

Understanding his feelings Mariah smiled soothingly and rolling back to face him placed a hand on his cheek "I'm sorry, I sometimes forget that she was your friend first"

"We went through a lot together" Ray whispered his eyes filling with tears "I miss her, and it's easier not to think about her so much"

"I know, and maybe these visions are just imaginings, but I can't stop thinking about it."

"Can we talk about this a little more later please?" Ray pleaded yawning as he flicked off the lamp "I really need some sleep, I've got work tomorrow, ugh I sound old"

Giggling Mariah nodded and this time when Ray pulled her into his arms she allowed him to hold her. "Goodnight old man!" she glanced over at the alarm clock, he was right, it was a bad time, she really needed to sleep.

--

It was three am when Renaldo got up the courage to open up the package that had been delivered to him. He carefully pulled away the brown paper to reveal the metal box inside, gingerly he lifted the lid and gazed down at the sleek shining metal of the weapon he had ordered for Kai. It was a colt .357, a weapon that Kai would find easy to use but a gun that wasn't so uncommon that it would be easy to trace.

All the boys who had been in the abbey knew how to use guns. They left the abbey and learnt how to protect themselves, it was a defensive gesture that they had needed after the trauma they suffered. Kai had owned a gun before but her gotten rid of it soon after the BEGA challenge. Boris had disappeared and everyone had begun to feel safe again.

Picking up the firearm Renaldo held it expertly judging it's weight and checking to see what condition it was in. The gun was in good order, clean and fairly new by the looks of things, inside the wooden box there was enough ammunition to keep Kai going for a while but Renaldo had ordered more, he had no idea what Kai would eventually get himself into but Renaldo had learned long ago that it was better to be safe than sorry.

--

It was three am when Kai awoke gasping and trembling, angrily he shook his head from side to side trying to shake the last remnants of his dreams away. His dreams these days were an odd mixture of bizarre nightmares from his days at the abbey and vivid imaginings that Hilary was beside him, laughing, joking, making him happy.

He glanced briefly at the clock and decided that he may as well get up now, he rolled out of bed landing on his hands and knees and pushing himself up to his feet.

Walking into the bathroom her turned on the shower and stood under the spray. The water was cold but he didn't get out to wait for it to warm up he just stood under the cold water hanging his head and letting the water drench his hair. Goosebumps covered his skin and he gave a shiver but gritting his teeth he remained where he was.

As he stood there he tried to think about where his grandfather might be, where Hilary's grandfather might be, where Boris might be. He then smiled manically as he started to think up ways he would hurt those men and Lando….

Lando he would hold under water, he would let up just before he stopped struggling, allow him to breathe, and push him down again.

Of course it might not be death by drowning, he wasn't sure yet, he was considering slicing open one of Lando's veins, tying him up and then allowing him to slowly bleed to death.

Suddenly an image of Hilary popped into his mind.

He frowned angrily, the last thing he needed was Hilary on his mind.

Hilary was good, she was forgiving, she wouldn't want him doing this. He knew that but… he couldn't forgive them.

For the first time in his life he had experienced happiness, true happiness. He had dared to hope for a future with someone and they had taken that away.

He would make their deaths slow, painful, terrible, and they had only themselves to blame.

--

It was three am when Tyson was discovered sitting in the kitchen with a peanut butter sandwich. Tala grinned at the idea of his best friends arch nemesis simply sitting there like a kid with a sandwich and a glass of milk. The great and powerful Tyson Granger!

"Couldn't sleep?" Tala asked marvelling at the fact that Tyson was in his pyjamas and still wearing his baseball cap!

"Nah, you?"

"Nope"

Tala walked over to the fridge and pulled out the jug of milk, he poured himself a glass and then after returning the milk to the refrigerator he sat down opposite Tyson.

They heard the shower start up, looking at each other they both immediately knew who it was

"Kai"

There was a short silence.

"He's after vengeance" Tyson remarked, not exactly asking him for confirmation, but not exactly telling him the situation.

"I know"

"Renaldo will be helping him."

"I know"

"You going along with it?" Tyson asked taking a bite of his sandwich

"That I don't know" he smiled sadly

Another silence in which Tyson ate and Tala drank. As soon as Tyson was finished he stood up and placed his plate and glass in the sink. He was about to turn the tap to fill the sink when he realised that doing so would alter the temperature of Kai's shower. He moved away from the sink and turned to look at Tala

"Hilary wouldn't want us all to avenge her death"

"I know" nodding Tala gave a little chuckle

"Doesn't mean that I'm against it though," Tyson spoke informatively "you guys ever need help..." he didn't finish his sentence merely raising one eyebrow meaningfully but Tala understood what he was getting at.

"I'll remember that" Tala said gratefully "and thanks"

--

It was three am and Millie was still awake, hours ago she had bid Max goodnight and was now sitting in the suites kitchen eating crisps (potato chips for the Americans out there) Millie read through the report again, this time though she made notes in a pad of all the things that didn't seem right. This time she was not just reading it for a matter of form, this time she had something to work out, why had Horatio arranged the cremation to go ahead early?

The doctor who had examined Hilary's body made a point to say that it looked like she had struggled as she drowned but that some of the bruising was consistent with being held down. Their first thoughts went to Lando but she wondered why would someone who was also in danger of drowning take the time to drown someone else before getting to safety? It didn't make sense.

Why was the time of death not properly recorded? The time of death was placed between the hours of _8-12 pm_, that struck her as very odd! She knew for a fact that the death couldn't have happened until after 11. Hiro and Arelam had returned home at 11:15, Hiro, Tyson and Hilary had driven after them and it was at least a ten minute drive to the site where Hilary had fallen so that would make the actual fall at about 11:25. How had no one picked up on this? Why was the time span for the time of death so questionable?

And another thing bothered her… there was no mention of her gunshot wound, in a report like this all marks on the body should be written down and explained away. Millie knew that it could just be a mistake by a doctor who couldn't be bothered with an old wound but somehow as far as Millie was concerned that didn't seem right either.

She continued reading, before she had pretty much just skimmed the report reading the big stuff and ignoring the scrawled writing that was near impossible to read.

'_Condition of teeth surprisingly good' _OK Millie found it hard to believe that a man would forget to comment on an old gunshot wound but would somehow find time to comment on the condition of Hilary's teeth. And what had that got to do with anything anyway?

This time she took her time decoding the nearly illegible writing until a phrase jumped out at her, '_Virgo Intacto_'. Millie knew her Latin but what the report was saying was an impossibility. Sitting at her computer she looked up the phrase. Virgo Intacto. In minutes she discovered that it was a phrase used by doctors and police to describe someone who was still a virgin.

Millie looked at the report and then back to the screen. This was impossible unless Hilary had lied, unfortunately there was no way to check. She couldn't exactly go up to Kai and ask him if he and Hilary had really…

Her phone began to buzz, pulling it from her pocket she looked down at the text she had received, Kai and Renaldo were downstairs. Glancing at the clock in the corner of her screen she saw that it was before five, Kai and Renaldo were early picking her up. She shut down her computer quickly and decided to pack it and take it with her. Shoving her notes and the report into her bag she stood and stretched. Max already knew she was leaving early so she didn't see the need to wake him. She scribbled a quick note to him and left it in the kitchen before leaving the room and running down to meet the two men.

--

It was three am when Jake Tatibana was awakened by his partner, she sat on hte edge of his bed shaking him into consciousness. He moaned and tried to roll away but to know avail she was insistent on shaking him.

"Jake get your lazy ass out of bed now!" there was an urgency to her voice that made him curious.

In a final desperate bid to wake him up a small amount of freezing cold water landed on his face

"What did you do that for? What's going on?" Jake asked his mind a little muddled from sleep as he sat up shaking his head.

"Get up asshole and I'll tell you!"

"Shut up…, you know I haven't been sleeping well since…" he broke off running a hand through his sleep tousled hair.

"Yeah… sorry" Cheryl sat down next to Jake and wrapped an arm around him "I know"

"I only joined to keep her safe, everything I've ever done, everything -since I was eleven years old- I've done it to protect her. And I failed."

"At least he didn't get to put plan A into action" Cheryl told him gently "that could have ended up being worse than death for her. She's at peace, it's not what you wanted for her but.."

"Lets change the subject" Jake stood up and again ran a hand through his hair "Why did you wake me up?"

"We've tracked him down" Cheryl grinned triumphantly "he's in Russia"

"Excellent" Jake's face became angry and hard, he walked over to the closet and pulled out his case, he then walked over to the chest of drawers and placing his case on top began packing his clothes away. He only had a few sets of clothes all in one drawer and when it was emptied of clothes there was only one item left to pack. Crouching down Jake felt underneath the chest of drawers and pulled out a small handgun.

He held the gun in his hand staring at it for a moment before standing and tucking it into the back of his trousers adjusting his shirt to cover it.

"Ready?" she asked, he turned to find Cheryl watching him carefully

"Yeah… you?" he looked nervous as he questioned her.

"Ready when you are." she told him softly.

"Are you getting sentimental on me agent Sawyer?" Jake asked amused

"You're the one who got emotional" she stood up her usual sarcastic façade back in place "I've packed my stuff and reported in already we can leave the minute you're ready to go."

* * *

Aha so the plot thickens!!! Sorry it's so short

Please R&R and I'm afraid you can't expect any more from me until after Christmas sorry!!


	6. Untruths

I know I said to many that my last chapter would be the last before Christmas but I had a six hour train journey to visit family and nothing to do so I spent it writing this!!

I do not own Beyblade!!

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"Morning Millie" Renaldo grinned cheerfully as the blonde left the hotel "Sorry if we're too early for you, you look beat!"

"I haven't slept yet" she shrugged "my insomnia's back with a vengeance at the moment" it was easier to lie than to tell them that she had spent the night looking into the existence of Ian Batat and re-reading Hilary's autopsy report looking for the reason Horatio had caused the Cremation to go ahead before time.

"I guess you'll be wanting coffee when we get to where we're going then."

"Yeah" Millie slid into the back of the car and stared at the back of Kai's head, she wished she could ask him what she needed to know. But if his answer was yes, and there was no way that Hilary was a virgin then…

Shaking her head she tried not to think about that for now, she had more important things on her mind.

They travelled for over an hour though dark overhung streets making Millie curious as to where they were going. She knew that she didn't know this area very well but still she would like to have been closer to the hotel. Her cousins had returned to America a few weeks ago and she missed them dearly. She got along well with Mariah and Tia but the two of them seemed to share some secret bond that she didn't really understand. The boys were welcoming enough but again they were a group that had been formed long before she had met them and as a result had many conversations she couldn't be a part of. This was the main reason she missed Hilary. Oddly enough the brunette has a knack for making people feel welcome and drawing them into conversations making sure the subject was generic enough for everyone or at least explaining the story behind a particular joke.

If it hadn't been for Max she would have gone home, the poor guy had been broken hearted over the 'death' of Hilary. Millie wasn't good in these situations, she never knew what to say and often felt nervous around the people that were grieving but with Max she knew exactly what to do. He needed someone to talk to early morning after he woke up, he needed to sit quietly late at night thinking with company but without conversation. Millie adapted to each mood of Max patiently waiting for his sunny demeanour to return.

"Millie?"

"Huh?" She had been so absorbed in thought she had missed the fact that the car had stopped she apologised sheepishly.

"No problem" Renaldo was the same as ever, cheerful and frivolous but with his slightly odd edge. It was something that you never really noticed about Renaldo until you had spent a good deal of time with him. He always seemed to be happy smiling and kind of silly, maybe even a little dumb but in situations that needed cool logic and forceful action he would show a remarkable ability to work with it.

Another thing about Renaldo that surprised her was his ability to find a large warehouse and turn it into a base for planning. She knew he was wealthy but to come to town, find a large empty building and adapt it in such a short space of time was really a thing to be admired. Of course each place Renaldo set up in was (from the looks of things) already his. They always had a place of storage that had nothing to do with his illegal activities and were filled with electrical equipment to be shown to anyone interested in the goings on in the place.

Millie was shown into an office with a set of computers, no explanation was offered but actually none was needed. She quickly sat down at the machines and began to work, it didn't take her long to access the airports websites and soon she was able to start her search for one Horatio Tatibana.

--

Hilary smiled as the doctor started to check her blood pressure, she could feel the band around her arm tightening to an almost painful rigidity and then slowly it loosened

"Well doctor?" Horatio had stood to one side watching the proceedings, now he moved towards his granddaughter taking her hand in his "How is she?"

"Absolutely fine" the doctor smiled at them both as he stood and packed away his equipment "you're going to want to keep her in bed for a few more weeks and I definitely don't recommend her doing anything strenuous for a few months. She been through a lot."

"What about my memory?" Hilary asked cautiously "Will it ever return?"

"It's hard to say, amnesia comes in so many different forms that it's hard to tell from person to person. Some people regain memories, some never do and some people continually lose the events of the days before. It just depends on how badly your brain was affected in the accident."

"Right" Hilary nodded sadly and returned to staring out her window "Thank you anyway Dr Wingblade"

"I'll show you out" Horatio offered, he was just escorting the doctor out the door when he turned back to Hilary "I'll be back in a minute."

"Yes Grandfather"

Once outside Horatio rounded on the man enquiring "Well?"

"What I said was the truth, she's in perfect health. I do not of course believe that her memories will return…" the two men smiled at each other "however we ought to wait a month or two before we begin."

"Very well. I'm going to tell Hilary that I've employed you to keep an eye on her I want you to be very careful with her, she is most precious."

"I know, I think she is a little unsettled right now, maybe it would be a good time to re-introduce her to her family?"

"I had already considered that" Horatio nodded "When you get down there send them up to us"

After his colleague had nodded and walked off Horatio stood for a moment in contemplation. He had a lot riding on this plan and Brady and his family were wild cards in all their planning. They needed them in order to lend colour to their stories but there was a danger that Brady or Samantha would somehow try to stop him. If it were just Brady and his wife here Horatio had no doubt that an escape attempt would be made but replacing Samantha's birth control pills with placebos all those years ago had ensured that the two prisoners had a reason to be obedient.

Keeping Hilary here would be hard if it was just him and Voltaire wouldn't have worked. He knew that. Having more family around would make her at ease especially with the kid there.

--

"He's not on here" Millie told Kai and Renaldo sadly

"Are you sure you checked it properly?" Kai asked a little insolently

"Yes I'm sure I checked it properly" Millie snapped back "I've run his name through this database since the day of the funeral until today and I've got nothing. No one named Horatio Tatibana went through the airports, I'm going to start checking through boats and docking databases and I'm going to hack into the passport movements site but it's going to take a while."

"What if he travelled under a different name" Renaldo spoke with certainty, it was something he had been wondering for a while "what do we do then?"

"Honestly I don't know. We'd need to know the name in order to search for him, we could search for him using pictures, get a photo of him run it through some facial recognition software and use that but it's not 100% certain it will work."

"We'll do that as well then" Kai decided "I'll get you a photo of him."

"Alright" Millie nodded "of course there is always a chance with someone with his connections that he managed to get out of the country without going through the usual points of departure."

"You mean someone smuggled him out?" internally Renaldo had to admit that he had wondered that himself.

"It's a possibility"

"How do we find that out then?"

"I don't know I'll have to think about it" Millie admitted "Don't worry though, I want to get him as much as you do."

She spoke to the silent Kai as she said this, he stood staring at the computer screens his eyes intense and sorrowful.

"We'll get him" Kai smirked "he may be old but he'll live a while yet, I've got all the time in the world to go after him. I can wait."

Those three words 'I can wait' echoed around Millie's head, why did it bother her so much. It was an understandable thing to say but somehow Kai's decision that he could wait disturbed her thoughts until she had trouble concentrating on her work.

'I can wait.'

--

Staring out the window Hilary frowned, she tried to remember but really how can you try to remember when all you know is that three days ago she woke up with no memory of anything. The men around her all spoke English and somehow she understood it but occasionally she would find herself thinking in a totally different language. She would sit and mentally tell herself to remember but the way she said the word remember was a totally different pronunciation from the English word remember.

So much about this situation didn't make sense, unless of course the English language was not her mother tongue… but how could that be? And what language was she speaking in her mind? And just where was she? Hilary was just beginning to think cohesively when a knock at her door interrupted her

"Come in?"

A sunny looking blonde kid with a toy bear under his arm ran quickly into the room grinning up at her "Hilary!!!" the little boy began, with difficulty, to climb up onto the bed.

"Get down Sammy" a young woman with blonde hair smiled as she walked in "sorry about him, he's just happy to see you again."

"That's alright" Hilary shrugged feeling more than a little confused, smiling she helped the little boy up onto the bed "hello, so your name is Sammy is it?"

"Of course!" the little boy looked hurt "You really don't know me?"

"Sorry" Hilary felt bad, the poor kids face fell as he realised that this was the truth, he turned back to his mother (well Hilary guessed she was his mother) with his lower lip trembling

"We told you about this Sammy" the woman sat in the chair by the bed and smiled "it's a little hard to explain amnesia to a four year old"

"Yeah" Hilary nodded understandingly "and you are?"

"Samantha! Everyone calls me Sam, I'm married to your Uncle Brady"

"So you're my Auntie?" Hilary asked, she got the affirming nod and turned back to the little boy sitting on her bed "and that means you're my cousin?"

"Yep!!" Sammy began to chat away about something and Hilary listened happily, she liked the kid on her lap who seemed happy and bright, it made her feel more comfortable having family around and the kid obviously knew her.

Samantha Tatibana felt dirty. She hated being under her father in laws thumb and she severely disliked her part in all this. It felt so wrong to be lying like this, to be deceiving a girl who to all intents and purposes had seemed very nice before. Still Sammy had become a little miserable after Hilary had undergone her treatment and removed from his reach.

Hilary was good with kids, she played with them when necessary but also knew how to make them behave. Sammy had never known many kids or had many playmates, still he was happy and he had accepted Hilary's addition to their household with delight. Samantha longed to get her son away from here and give him a normal life, to have him invite friends over to play, to have birthday parties and be on sports teams.

Suddenly feeling angry she stood and excused herself from the room leaving the two cousins on the bed as Hilary was reintroduced to 'Cuddly Bear' and retold his history.

--

Returning to the hotel Millie wondered how much longer she would be staying here. She knew that Ray and Mariah would be moving out soon, Tia and Mariah had managed to find a suitable apartment for the young could and their eventual baby. Lee had found himself a place to live quite quickly but it was easier for him as he only needed a small place. The other mainly stayed with Tyson or other friends but she knew that Mr Dickenson was paying for the suite she, Max and Tia were staying in. They would have to either go home soon or find somewhere more permanent.

The elevator was full as Millie made her way to her room, someone offered to come out so she could go in but she shook her head smiling

"I can wait"

'I can wait…'

'I can wait…..'

Suddenly Millie couldn't wait, her mind was a kaleidoscope of thoughts as he made her way to the stair and raced up them. That would be why the death had been faked, that was why Horatio and Voltaire were covering their tracks like they were. Running she made her way straight to Mariah's room, she only needed to know one thing and she'd be able to work it all out.

"Millie or Tia?" a voice cried in response to her knock

"Millie" she yelled back,

"It's open! Hey Millie" Mariah smiled at the girl as she walked in "I knew it was you, you and Tia knock the same you know? Finally some company, I've been sooo bored today and… what's wrong?"

"Mariah I'm going to ask you a question and please promise you won't get angry at me." Millie walked forwards and slumped down onto the sofa next to the pregnant girl.

"Ok?" Mariah looked at the petite blonde confusedly "I won't get angry… what's wrong?"

Millie sat up properly clasping her hands in her lap she stared straight at Mariah "Is there any reason why Hilary would lie to us about sleeping with Kai?"

"What?" Mariah moved back incredulous at the question she was being asked "What the hell kind of question is that???"

"You promised not to get angry" Millie held up her hands in front of her face as though afraid Mariah would attack her

"Yeah…well… Hitler promised he wouldn't go to war… we all know how that turned out."

"He did?"

"Yeah, you never heard of the Munich agreement?"

"No"

"Well look it up!! Anyway back to the present…I ask again. What the hell kind of question is that?"

"Look at this" Millie pulled out the report and presented it to Mariah "Fourth box down."

"Ok…" Mariah looked down the page and mumbled as she read the words, when she reached the phrase Millie had highlighted she paused. "What the hell is virgo intacto?"

"It's a medical definition, in Latin it basically means a virtuous lady but in the medical world it means she was a virgin"

Mariah looked up "What?"

"That's why I asked, look if Hilary lied…"

"She wouldn't lie about a thing like that, if she did she'd lie the opposite way but she never really lied that much." Mariah was trembling as she put the page down on the sofa between them "What does this mean?"

"There's only one conclusion I can come to. That wasn't Hilary in that coffin, she's…"

"She's alive" Mariah pulled her beyblade out of her pocket "I knew it. I've been seeing her for weeks… its been in my mind so many times… but why?"

"Ok listen I kind of figured out part of the why today" Millie sat up and placed a hand on Mariah's arm making the other girl look at her "Look at the way Kai and the others are acting now they think she's dead."

"Well some of them are getting on with their lives the others are… they're angry, ready for vengeance."

"Exactly," Millie was triumphant "but are they rushing? Are they aware they might be working against the clock?"

"No Kai seems impatient but… he enjoys the planning of revenge as much as he enjoys the actual revenge."

"What would they be like if they thought Hilary was being held prisoner somewhere?"

"Are you kidding? Those Blade Breakers would do anything to get her back, they'd all be working together to…" Mariah's expression changed as she realised what Millie was getting at "you mean her death was faked so that there would be no rescuers. Of course." it suddenly made a lot of sense to Mariah "Right now it's just Kai and Renaldo. Tyson, Tala, and Tia are willing to help out but none of them are very active. If we knew she was alive, if she was just missing, it wouldn't just be them, it would everyone, Ray would be fuming, all the old teams, The Blitzkrieg Boys, The Blade Breakers, even the White Tigers and the PPB All Starz would help out."

"To say nothing of Mr Dickenson and all the other friends Hilary has at the BBA and the actual police and law enforcers. There would be so many people they wouldn't be able to hide from us. But with her just dead…"

"Oh my god" Mariah put a hand to her forehead "tell me honestly Millie, do you think she's really alive? Cos I couldn't cope if…"

"Mariah I'm about to tell you something I haven't told anyone else yet."

"What?"

"Horatio Tatibana arranged for Hilary's cremation to go ahead early. He paid the crematorium to do it."

Mariah frowned confused at the statement "Why?"

"Well again I've been working on this and I have two theories as to why."

"Go on"

"Well if that isn't Hilary that poor girl had to be one of two things. She was either a relative of Hilary's that might have been recognised eventually or and here's where most people would think I was crazy… have you ever heard about genetic duplication?"

"Huh?"

"Cloning?"

"You're right most people would think you might be crazy…"

"What do you think?"

Mariah sighed and leant back in the chair thinking "Millie in all the years I have known Ray I have seen and heard of bit beasts which a lot of people wouldn't normally believe in, bit beast duplication or cyber bit beasts, genetically modified humans and people who think they can take over the world with beyblading. Trust me cloning isn't sounding to weird right now."

"Yeah I guess not!" Millie laughed feeling more than a little relieved "Anyway if she was a clone there would have been a few small differences."

"Like?"

"Like the bullet wound, if they picked out an outfit that showed Hilary's arm, which coincidentally we did, then we would have noticed that that was missing but that doesn't solve the question of what to do now… I mean… How can I tell everyone this? And what if I'm actually wrong?"

"I don't think you're wrong." Mariah told her "I really don't."

"Still we need to somehow get proof"

"Have you thought about where to get that?"

"Well… there's one man that can answer certain questions about this autopsy report"

"The doctor who did it" Mariah nodded understandingly "well I think tomorrow I'm going to need to head for to the hospital, for a check up! The stress is getting to me"

"Well then you had better let me take you" the two girls grinned at each other, they spent the rest of the day watching TV still sitting smiling like idiots when Ray returned from work.

* * *

Happy Christmas to you all. I appreciate my readers and reviewers and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. For the record I am Christian and wish all my friends (christian or not) a happy Christmas even if they do not celebrate or believe in it themselves. They all appreciate it in the spirit in which I say it and it is with love and a real wish for all to experience joy at this time.

Please R&R


	7. Death and life

I'd like to apologise if I have screwed any of this story up, I think there have been a few mistakes in continuity so if anyone thinks I have made a mistake with the due date Mariah and Rays baby or any other mistakes then I'm really sorry. I have noticed that I have made other mistakes (I'm not going to say where but if you pick up on them then sorry!!)

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Kenny took Millie's place today, he travelled with Kai and Renaldo observing the route they were taking carefully. He had his laptop with him as usual but he was a little confused as to why Millie had made him come today. She had spouted off some unbelievable explanation claiming that facial identification software was not her forte and that he'd do a better job. The explanation was unbelievable for two reasons.

One he had seen Millie on a computer and she could pick up any program with ease and two she had avoided looking at him as she spoke.

Millie was a very honest person and really a lousy liar so when she lied she refused to look at people. There was something going on with that girl and it worried him. Maybe she had found something out when she was looking through the files and was going to investigate by herself. Oh well he smiled to himself, he had spoken to Mariah today pretending to be worried about Millie's renewed problem with insomnia and the pink haired girl told him she'd take Millie along to the hospital with her today.

Only God knew how much trouble Millie could get into if she started looking into this sort of thing by herself. It was bad enough that she was endangering herself by helping Kai and Renaldo with their revenge plot but her going off alone to look into these things could end with her death.

--

Sitting in the taxi Mariah smiled to herself as she remembered Kenny approaching her earlier, he had expressed a worry about Millie and Mariah's first thought was

'Oh damn he has a crush on her'

Unlike most people she had seen Kai's reaction when it looked like Tyson and Hilary were a couple and it had not been very accepting. Kai and Tyson were very close friends despite all the stories and history between them and it had looked as though with Tyson and Hilary a couple any semblance of friendship between the two would disappear. Kais' face had been murderous at the breakfast table that morning and it hadn't improved any until the next day.

The last thing any of them needed was for Kenny to be falling for Millie. There was no doubt in Mariah's mind that Millie was head over heels for Max but… well Kenny and Millie were very similar in some ways. The two of them could talk for hours about computer programs and beyblade building. Of curse Max loved beyblade building too so the young couple had that in common but…

Shaking her head Mariah decided to stop thinking about the subject, looking out the window she saw that they were just pulling into the hospital. Immediately Mariah pulled her bag into her lap but Millie laid a hand on her arm

"I'll pay for this, you can buy me a hot chocolate later"

"A taxi fare costs a lot more than a hot chocolate"

"Yes but unlike you I'm not having to buy a crib, diapers, baby grows, a baby bath tub, changing table, high chair…"

"Stop talking" Mariah whispered covering her ears with her hands "Oh god I'm only in my third month and you're making me panic."

"I was kidding" Millie laughed handing over a note to the driver and politely telling him to keep the change. The two girls climbed out of the taxi and made their way into the hospital.

As Millie and Mariah climbed out of the taxi and walked into the hospital, Mariah was clearly feeling uneasy but Millie was happy to actually be looking into things a bit more. Under one arm she held a folder containing a copy of the autopsy report, Mariah was as usual carrying a large handbag but she kept a tight hold on it in case someone tried to grab it. She was getting very paranoid these days seeing things within the shadows at night. Her dreams were calmer these days though, she no longer 'saw' Hilary, she wondered why the past couple of nights had been free form those dreams but quickly shrugged it off, maybe Galux had worked out she was finally getting the message and was leaving her lone. After all bit beasts can be very cryptic!

Ray still liked to blame a lot of things on her pregnancy saying that her paranoia was merely hormones. Of course she had hit him after he said that so it did kind of justify his statement. Damn this pregnancy was already destroying her brain cells!

Reaching the reception Millie flashed her usual dazzling smile and asked "We're looking for Dr Kroeger, is he here?"

"Yeah he'll be down in the morgue, its on the floor below this one. I'm heading down there myself I can take you" the male receptionist smiled back giving the blonde girl an appreciative look.

"Thanks so much" Millie grinned happily

"I'll just be a second then I'll take you down to see him"

"Oh brother" Mariah muttered, as soon as the receptionist had left she looked at the blonde next to herself "were you just flirting with that guy?"

"What? No!" Millie widened her eyes looking shocked

"It looked like you were flirting" she pressed looking her directly in the eye

"No… It's just I called about this doctor earlier and he doesn't like visitors. A little smile makes it easier, it's not flirting."

Mariah rolled her eyes she couldn't believe that her friend was naïve sometimes "Trust me he thinks its flirting"

"Really?" Millie asked cluelessly "Oh that's bad" she suddenly felt embarrassed, she didn't really think to much 'flirting' even with Max. She was just always herself, smiley and friendly. It had never occurred to her that someone might take it the wrong way.

"Right! Ready to go?" the receptionist was back and immediately Millie looked serious giving him a small smile as she nodded

"Yeah! Thanks for this"

"You can smile a little more than that" Mariah muttered as they followed their guide towards the lift.

"Well I don't know" Millie whispered back "I've never really thought about it before."

The three of them stood in the lift and the receptionist pressed the button "So what are you two doing here anyway?"

"Um…" Millie began to answer then trailed off when she realised she couldn't come up with a suitable lie "We…"

"We have to see him about something important" Mariah told him trying not to sound too rude "It's kind of private"

"Say no more… hospitals are all about the confidentiality of the patients. Aren't you Mariah of the white tiger X team?"

"Uh… yeah, I am Hi!" Mariah was a little surprised, she didn't usually get all that much recognition as part of the team but for all the other stuff that had gone on in the last year "What's your name?"

"Paul and I am such a fan, I've been watching the white tigers play since I was a kid…. I actually had a major crush on you"

The two of them talked about beyblading as the lift descended, Millie just smiled and nodded pretending to be listening. In just a few minutes she would have the answers she needed to hear and if she was right it meant that… it meant that…

"Here we are" her train of though was cut off as the lift stopped and the doors opened with a ping. The two beybladers were led down the corridor until they reached a door with the doctors name on it. "Dr Kroeger?" Paul knocked lightly on the wood. "Sir you have visitors"

"Are you sure he's here?" Mariah asked peering over the mans shoulder

"Well he should be, I asked upstairs and one of the orderlies said he distinctly remembered the doctor saying he'd be in his office all day."

"The lights on" Millie pointed out "Maybe he just left for a minute"

"Yeah" Paul stared at the door his brow furrowed, he looked down the corridor for help, there was a woman at the nurses station so he called out "Hey! Excuse me? Do you know where Dr Kroeger is right now?"

"I haven't seen him come out of his office for a few hours, he had some visitors earlier, but they left ages ago. Is he not answering?"

"No"

"He might have fallen asleep he's working crazy hours these days, we had three bodies in last night! Just go in."

"Ok" Paul turned back to Millie and Mariah shrugging and after knocking again to be polite he swung the door open…

"Oh my God" Paul couldn't believe what he was seeing, "girls don't loo…"

It was too late, Millie had looked in and she had seen him. Dr Kroeger a grey haired man in his early fifties, dressed in a white lab coat, white shirt, blue tie and black trousers was swinging from a rope attached to the light fitting in the centre of the room.

Turning back she stood in front of Mariah blocking her vision. The last thing the pregnant girl needed was to see a sight like Millie just had. Looking around Millie found a couple of chairs and sat down heavily, she felt sick.

Slowly Mariah had allowed herself to be led away from the door, she gazed into Millie's troubled eyes. Sitting down next to the girl she brushed her long blonde hair out of the way of her face

"Mills?" Mariah asked "Are you going to be sick?"

"Maybe"

--

Gazing worriedly at her friend Mariah lay (rather uncomfortably) on the hospital bed "You ok Millie?"

"No but I'll cope, right now I'm just really hungry"

"Well most of your breakfast is currently travelling around the hospitals plumbing system"

"Nice" Millie shook her head. Truthfully she wasn't feeling at all well, the sight of that poor man just hanging from the ceiling was going to be haunting her dreams for some time to come. She gave an involuntary shiver as she thought about what she seen but instead of allowing herself to get maudlin she walked around the room looking at the posters in the room.

"So how's the morning sickness been?"

"Not so good" both Millie and Mariah spoke simultaneously then exchanging looks giggled.

"I'm coping" Mariah told the nurse as she lay back on the bed.

"Right" the nurse nodded confusedly "So is it just you to or is there someone else coming"

"Nope just us" Mariah shook her head

"You two are the parents?" she enquired cheerfully

"What?" Mariah spat out while Millie merely giggled to herself and then seeing the odd look they was getting Mariah suddenly became flustered "I mean, there is a father, just he's not here, I mean…. he is here as in around but he's at work."

"I understand" the nurse grinned before shrugging and pulling out a tube "This gel might be cold ok?"

Ignoring the following conversation about pregnancy and other maternal issues Millie absently watched the cold blueish gel being rubbed onto her friends stomach she allowed her mind to wander, pretty soon she was back to thinking about earlier events and the image of that poor man…

"Millie look at this" the shout cut into Millie's thoughts and the blonde girl looked up at the screen.

On the monitor there was a blurred black and grey image "look here" the nurse pointed "that's the head and you follow along this line to see the body"

"Can you tell it's gender yet?" Mariah asked excitedly

"Not really, I could try but in the third month there is still so much develop that I could predict wrongly. Maybe next month or the month after you'll be able to"

"I guess I ought to have Ray with me for that, he was here for the second month but I thought I'd let him work this time."

"Well if I just" the nurse leaned forward and flicked a switch and suddenly a low thumping sound started to come from the ultrasound machine. "and that's your baby's heartbeat"

Mariah smiled as she listened to the gentle drumming of her baby's heartbeat. "Isn't that amazing Millie? Millie?"

The young blonde didn't answer, her eyes were fixed on the screen her expression completely fascinated. She stared at the image, she had never seen anything like this before. She had seen pictures but never before had she seen it live and belonging to a friend, it surprised her how much she was affected by it. That was her friends baby, that was a picture of a life force growing inside her friend.

"Wow" she finally managed to say in answer to her friends question.

"I know, pretty awesome huh?"

"She's beautiful" Millie whispered

"What do you mean 'she's beautiful'?" Mariah asked "We don't know yet, it could be a boy"

"I'm always right about this sort of thing" Millie told her with a shrug, "I always know if it's a boy or girl and I reckon that it's a girl" she turned to Mariah with a smile. "She's beautiful"

--

"Here's today's sonogram!" Mariah plonked herself down next to Ray holding out the grey image.

"Amazing" Ray took the picture smiling, "who'd you take with you to the hospital?"

"Millie, she reckons it's a girl"

"They could tell?" Ray sat up squinting from at the picture in his hand

"No she just thinks it'll be a girl"

"She's probably right" a voice joined their conversation and Mariah turned around surprised

"Tia what are you doing here?"

"I was at the BBA collecting some of Hilary's stuff from her locker, Ray met me at her walking back and offered me a drink. I needed it"

"Cool" Mariah gave her friend a sympathetic smile "how were her parents?"

"not good"

There was a silence as they all considered the sad situation, Mariah wanting to change the subject asked "So why do you think Millie's right about the baby being a girl"

"She has this knack, a way of knowing. When our cousin Anita was pregnant Millie insisted it was a boy, she never saw any sonograms or anything and she was right."

"I find that really unlikely" Ray argued "it was a one off after all"

"Yeah well there was the other time when…"

"Could have been a lucky guess"

A knock at the door distracted them and Mariah jumped up to answer it. Tia and Ray continued to fight but when Mariah uttered a small "Oh, can I help with anything?" they stopped and listened closely

"I found this… among Hilary's papers in her desk" a pale and tired looking Abigail Tatibana handed the large envelope over to Mariah "it's got your name and Ray's name on it. I asked at the dojo, I wanted to deliver it myself"

"Thank you" Mariah took the envelope "Do you want to come in…?"

"No" the older woman cut in before Mariah could finish "I've taken a lot of time off work recently… I never did it in Hilary's life time but…" she shrugged smiling falsely "I read in a magazine you are to become a mother yourself"

"Yes" Mariah nodded placing one hand over her abdomen, she wasn't showing but it had been leaked to the papers that she and Ray had been seen at a certain clinic. To put it simply they had been outed big time!

"Congratulations, there is nothing more rewarding than being a m other, just make sure you don't miss out on your children's life like I did. I started working again the minute I could, Hilary was only thirteen she must have hated the fact that…"

"She was proud of you" Mariah told her "she missed you a lot but, she was very proud of both her parents, and she loved you all very much"

"Thank you" Abigail smiled sadly before turning to walk away.

Mariah shut the door and found Ray and Tia watching her closely

"Was that Hilary's mum?" Tia asked

"Yeah she was just dropping this off" Mariah sat down next to Ray on the couch and ripped open the brown envelope. Frowning she lifted it up and emptied the contents onto the couch between herself and Ray.

"Oh God" Mariah muttered as she lifted up one of the papers.

_**Plans for Baby Wong/Kon **_

_**baby shower: Registered at **_

_**Full list under the name of Mariah Wong. (Double check with Mariah and Ray, great way to get baby stuff.)**_

_**Invited beyblading girl friends, **_

_**Using Granger Dojo, (bribe Tyson with cookies!)**_

_**Check with Millie and Tia about the date.**_

_**Have stocked up on ginger tea at the dojo (good for morning sickness) and make sure Mariah stays away from caffeine **_

_**Maternity clothes: Ordered due to be delivered to Granger Dojo under Mariah's name (my bday pressie to Mariah)**_

_**Have signed up Mariah and Ray for Lamaze classes. Full details sent to the Dojo.**_

_**Pregnancy books? Nothing in my immediate medical library (I'm gonna be in the er not many pregnancies there) Have purchased pregnancy for dummies from . (pressie for Ray) delivered to the granger dojo A.P.U**_

_**Young people can go into early labour! **_

_**First pregnancies are often late. **_

_**Nice going Mariah!**_

_**Have made sure Mr D can give Ray a three month flexible paternity leave and doesn't send him out of the country.**_

_**Double check with Ray if he's definately going to propose if yes start on planning bridal shower. **_

_**Note to self I better be maid of honour!!!!**_

Mariah began to cry as she read through the odd list Hilary had made, she had thought of so much and done so much in the few weeks after discovering that Mariah was pregnant.

"She would've been wouldn't she?" Tia said as she looked down the paper Ray had handed her

"Would've been what?" Ray asked looking at Tia confused

"Maid of honour" the blonde laughed handing the sheet back, seeing how Mariah's hand trembled as she took it Tia decided that she ought to go "I'll see you both tomorrow" she told them standing and walking out before either of them could say anything.

"Mariah?" Ray wrapped his arms around his fiancé and held her close "it'll be alright, I don't know how but I promise it'll be alright"

"Ray…" Mariah turned to look at him "do you ever keep secrets from me?"

Ray paused, he thought about it. Truth be told he didn't usually keep secrets form his girlfriend but today… today Tyson and he had been beybattling when…

"_If we found Voltaire, Horatio and the others what would you do Ray?" Tyson's Dragoon slammed into drigger repeatedly as he questioned his friend_

"_Tyson I have responsibilities now"_

"_So you're just gonna let Hilary's killers get away with it?" Tyson yelled attacking drigger with a force that terrified Ray _

"_Tyson in case you haven't noticed Mariah and I are going to be parents soon" Ray was so distracted that he didn't even notice Drigger being knocked from the ring until the beyblade had sailed past his ear and down to the ground._

"_So she meant nothing to you huh?" Tyson asked calling dragoon to his hand and staring across at Ray "She was just someone who you could vent to when you were angry, or use so that you and Mariah could sneak around"_

"_She was like a sister to me" Ray yelled glaring at his friend_

"_And yet you'll let her killers get off scot free"_

"_No" Ray shook his head staring at the ground a dark look crossing his features "I don't want that Ty, I just… I can't let anything happen to Mariah"_

"_Nothing will" Tyson told him confidently "we're going to stop them from ever hurting anyone again. Think about it Ray, we get rid of that lot, Boris, Lando, Kendall and your kid will be able to beyblade in a world where it's fun and happy, don't you want that?"_

_Ray stood thinking and then finally he looked up at Tyson "Mariah must never know" _

"I do have some secrets, why do you ask"

"I have secrets and… they are not bad secrets but…"

"But what?"

"Be innocent of the knowledge dearest chuck till thou applaud the deed, come sealing night scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day and with thy bloody and invisible hand cancel and tear to pieces that great bond which makes me pale. Light thickens and the crow makes wing to the rooky wood, good things of day begin to droop and drowse whilst nights black agents to their prey do rouse." Mariah looked at Ray and seeing his confused expression giggled telling him "thou marvel'st at my words but hold thee still, things bad begun make strong themselves by ill so prithee go with me."

"Ok what was that?"

"Shakespeare, Kenny has this weird idea that you should play the baby classical music and read classic literature. That particular bit is form Macbeth, Kenny's favourite, it' where Macbeth is telling his wife not to ask questioned but to wait until he's solved the problem and made everything better again."

"And that's what you're telling me, to be innocent of the… what was it?"

"Innocent of the knowledge, till thou applaud the deed. Basically it means don't ask questions until you realise I am doing a good thing."

"Well," Ray said eloquently "ditto"

The two of them laughed together but as she looked at the list Hilary had made Mariah noticed something written in small messy handwriting at the bottom of the page

_**n.b. Find out about Brooklyn Masefield's mother**_

Mariah folded the paper and shoved it into her back pocket.

Whatever Hilary had wanted from Brooklyn's mother they would have to soon find out.

* * *

Coolio!

Can I just say that I love looking at sonograms of babies! Have any of you ever seen them? It's the most amazing thing in the world and it really does make you look at things in a brighter way!

The Macbeth bit was weird but that's what happens when you have to study the same play for three years. It becomes a part of your psyche and comes out when you don't mean it too!

Please R&R


	8. A new twist?

Tanks for reviewing, don't you all just hate when you misspell a word and it ends up being another word? Spell check does nothing about it.

Thanks for reviewing, I apologise for the slow update and the shortness of the chapter but I only got a 42% on my finance coursework and I really need to keep up with studying to pass the exam or else I am screwed!!

I do not own Beyblade.

* * *

Kenny and Millie sat at their computers looking through the facial recognition software but the program was taking hours. Kai and Renaldo had pretty much left them to it, Renaldo spent him time chasing up old contacts of Voltaire's and Horatio's and keeping tabs on Hilary's family. Kai spent his time in the gym that had been set up, he spent hours punching the bag that hung from the ceiling but as long as he was punching something that wasn't another human being then Renaldo seemed to think it was an improvement.

Kai was looking better these days, gone were the late nights in bars where he tried to destroy his liver and slowly drink himself to death. He was eating more regularly now and with the help of Millie's stash of sleeping tablets he was finally getting a full nights sleep, of course in his mind that wasn't always a good thing. He never told anyone about the dreams that affected him in the night.

He didn't tell people that his dreams would occasionally take him back to the abbey where he would once again be in Boris's hands. Of course they were the bad nights that made him grateful to wake up. Some mornings he would awaken and be less willing to get out of bed. He never told anyone of the dreams where she would appear. Sometimes they were just that he sat eating a meal with her, where she sang silly songs as she did the washing up or cooking, where she was just watching him training. It was rare but every once in a while he would dream of just lying in bed wither, talking like they used to. Those dreams were the hardest to wake up from, he would slowly regain consciousness as his alarm buzzed and for a split second, for the tiniest moment he would forget. He would roll over expecting to see her, then he would remember.

--

Hilary wandered around the large house, she knew she was in Russia but part of her wondered why. She spoke Russian with considerable ease but it was Japanese that she found herself more comfortable with. She didn't tell her uncle or grandfather this, she didn't want them to think that she was unhappy here, she wasn't unhappy, just lonely.

There was something missing.

Sighing she rounded a corner to find Sammy walking around holding a toy in the air making it fly.

"To affinity and beyond" the boy shouted as he allowed his toy to 'soar' through the air.

"Infinity" Hilary corrected

"Hilary!!" Sammy ran towards her and she gathered him up into her arms "Make me fly!"

Laughing Hilary gathered the boy close and keeping a good grip on him ran down the hallway "To Infinity?"

"AND BEYOND" The boy laughed tightening his hold on her neck. When they finally stopped running around (Hilary found the game tired her out quite quickly) Sammy paused and asked "Hey can we watch Toy story?"

"What's that?" Hilary tilted her head to one side

"A movie! It's what Buzz Lightyear is from." He held out the odd looking spaceman smiling "He says To affinity and beyond"

"Infinity" Hilary corrected automatically

"Yeah" Sammy agreed taking Hilary's hand and leading her to his room where his TV was set up "C'mon!"

--

"Well look at this" Kenny muttered pointing to the screen he was working on. Millie leaned over leaning on his desk as she did so.

"What's that?"

"I was researching some stuff about our three main men, Horatio, Voltaire and Boris as I worked on the facial recognition software and every time I did it something popped up."

"Adverts?" Millie teased getting a scornful look from her companion "Sorry, what is it?"

"It would appear that we aren't the only ones to be keeping an eye on these guys." he started tapping away at his keyboard and Millie almost fell off her chair as she saw what he had pulled up.

"MI5? As in the British secret service? No way!"

"Yes way, they've had two agents working on the Tatibana family for some time."

"Can you find out which agents?" Millie asked interested

"Is it really worth it?" Kenny responded "I mean it would be interesting to know but it's not really relevant."

"I guess not, but if we could contact them and tell them…." Millie stopped suddenly realising what she had been about to say. She had gotten so used to talking to Mariah about Hilary being alive that it had almost slipped out. "You know what? You're right… it's not important"

Millie moved back into her seat just in time to see her computer flash up a message, it had found something. She was going to get Kenny's attention when she remembered that she had been researching certain things that she didn't want Kenny to know about.

Idly clicking with her mouse she pulled up the page and sat up ramrod straight a she saw what was on it.

Ian Batat::

Flight to Russia

1st class

The date was the day after Hilary's funeral, the day Kai and Renaldo had lost Horatio.

She paused wondering what to do, should she tell?

If she did she would have to explain why she had started looking for this name today.

Pulling a memory stick from her bag she discreetly copied the information and placed the device into her pocket.

She would deal with it later.

--

Brooklyn Masefield's family was a mystery to most people, no one knew much about him and no one really spent time trying to find out. Except Hilary, she liked to get to know people and one thing she had discovered about Brooklyn was that he was an only child. His mother had raised her alone, he had no idea who his father was.

Unlike most Brooklyn wasn't part of the beyblading circuit. If he had been then Mr Dickenson would have discovered him long before Boris had. The odd thing about how Brooklyn's ability had been revealed to Boris was that Brooklyn had given up beyblading. Boris appeared one day knowing that Brooklyn would be a great beyblader, he hadn't really even tested him, it was like he knew Brooklyn would be great.

Hilary had once suggested that maybe Boris was related to Brooklyn in some way but the redhead always laughed that off. His mother had lilac hair and Boris had purple. His orange haired gene had to come from somewhere. Hilary had dropped the subject sensing that Brooklyn didn't want to talk about it but it had stuck with her.

Why this blader genealogy had become so interesting to her friend Mariah wasn't sure but she needed answers and if Hilary really was alive she needed to get them fast!

"Mariah?" Brooklyn looked down at the sheepish girl on his doorstep. Surprise was written on his face but he smiled welcomingly as he let her into his home "what are you doing here?"

"I need to…" Mariah paused taking a deep breath "I need a favour"

"Um…" Brooklyn scratched his head awkwardly, he and Mariah barely knew each other. In fact the only reason he knew her at all was through their beyblading friends and competitions. Suspiciously he questioned her "what is it that you want?"

"I need to speak to your mother"

Even more confused Brooklyn found himself vaguely wondering if it was true that pregnant women went a little crazy. "Oh… why?"

"It's something Hilary left behind, I just need to show her something."

"Oh!" relieved Brooklyn nodded and started off down the hallway "This way."

Through the small hallway Mariah followed Brooklyn, he led her into a bright sunny kitchen where a woman with lilac hair stood mixing something in a bowl

"Mum you've got a visitor!"

The woman that turned to face Mariah was not astonishingly beautiful but she had a quality to her that could be described as striking. It was her demeanour that Mariah was surprised by, she seemed very unwelcoming. Her eyes were ice blue and her thin face seemed cold as she stared at the newcomer. After a few seconds of confusion Brooklyn's mother shrugged and smiled

"Sorry I was expecting someone else… you'll be Mariah right?"

"Mums obsessed with celebrity gossip from the beyblading world" Brooklyn groaned apologetically

"I just want to know about who your friends are" Mrs Masefield explained laughing as she placed her mixing bowl down on the kitchen counter "he's only ever had a few people visit and only one has come regularly."

"Yeah well you were always inviting Hilary" Brooklyn complained

"Yes well" the older woman frowned a little, there was a flash of pain in her eyes as Brooklyn spoke of Hilary "can I help you two with anything?"

"Beats me" Brooklyn picked up an apple and polishing it on his sleeve and taking a large bite from it. "She wanted to see you."

"Oh yes?" both of them turned their cool blue eyes to gaze questioningly at Mariah.

"Um… ok this may sound stupid but…" Mariah pulled out the piece of paper that had been discovered among Hilary's things and held it up "I found this."

"Well… it looks very interesting but…"

"Look at the bottom" Mariah pointed to the note she had seen the day before "I want to know what Hilary would have found so interesting."

Brooklyn's mother seemed flustered but was obviously trying not to show it "It's just a silly note it means nothi…"

"You're lying" Mariah spoke harshly "I knew Hilary better than almost anyone, she wrote that down for a reason. Now I want to know why she visited you so much, I looked through her diary and she doesn't even see her own parents as often as she's seen you in the last year or so."

"Mum" Brooklyn stared long and hard at his mother before finally nodding "Tell her, she deserves to know"

"Hilary begged me not to say anything and now she's dead…"

"That's just it, I don't think Hilary's dead."

"What?" Both of the Masefield's turned to stare at Mariah as she said this

"I have reason to believe that she is still living and has been taken away by… well that's a long story…"

"Horatio Tatibana and Voltaire Hiwatari?" Mrs Masefield asked quietly making Mariah's eyes widen

"Yeah… how did you…?"

"It's a long story, it all stems from my uncles wish to create the perfect beyblader"

"I'm sorry who?" Mariah asked trying to get her head around what she was being told.

"My uncle" the woman repeated sighing heavily "Voltaire Hiwatari"

* * *

Please R&R and I'll try to make the next chapter longer!


	9. A long history

Ok I'm sorry about the last chapter, I apologise many times for it's shortness and bad quality. I hope this makes up for it! I also apologise for the huge amount of time between updates, I do apologise but exams and coursework must be first in my mind now.

BTW did no one notice????

I do not own Beyblade or anything else mentioned in here that I could be sued for, and go aheead sue me if you like, I currently have twenty five pounds and seventy two pence in my account, whoo big money!!

* * *

Turning on the cd player Hilary smiled as light operatic music filled the room, her grandfather had told her it was one of her favourite cd's before she lost her memory and Hilary had no problem believing him. One song in particular had beautiful lyrics and amazing sounds to it. She had asked her grandfather what other cd's she had enjoyed but he hadn't known. Apparently the fire in which she had been injured thus losing her memory had destroyed her CD collection along with half of her possessions.

She was a little saddened by the lack of tangible objects from her past life but she tried to focus on the good things going on around her and she loved spending time with little Sammy.

Walking around she stretched raising her arms up and leaning first to one side and then to the other loosening her muscles. She spent a lot of time inside these days and as a result she ended up doing exercises in the large training room in her grandfathers mansion. He did occasionally let her out but she was only ever allowed into the gardens, never further. She was desperate to get out into the real world but she was a sucker for her grandfathers guilt trips and never complained.

It didn't matter really, this gym had so many pieces of machinery that she had all she needed. Some of the equipment stretched muscles she had never heard of before… well at least she didn't think she'd heard of them before, who knew right now?

She was just shifting her legs in order to stretch those muscles properly when she felt a presence behind her, spinning around she was surprised to see her grandfathers associate Voltaire standing in the door way.

"Is my music too loud?" she asked suddenly very conscious of the noise from the stereo.

"Not at all, I was just enjoying it, Andrea Bocelli is one of the greatest singers of his time."

"Yes" Hilary nodded smiling widely "I find the music soothing, the instrumental tracks on this CD are great for mediation."

"Indeed" Voltaire nodded before allowing his gaze to travel from Hilary's eyes, he looked her up and down speculatively before bowing politely "excuse me, I'll leave you in peace."

Strangely suspicious Hilary watched the old man walk away and her body gave an involuntary shudder. Something about that man creeped her out and she didn't exactly know why. Allowing the voices of Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman distract her she resumed her stretching before making her way over to the treadmill and beginning her training.

--

"You and Kai are related?" Mariah practically yelled the question as she stared at Brooklyn. "But…, but… why did you never tell us?"

Brooklyn sighed shrugging "I only found out after the BEGA thing and I wanted to battle him again. I was worried he might go easy on me if he found out we were cousins of some sort. Besides mums trying to keep her head down"

"Why?"

Mrs Masefield sighed as she looked at Mariah's inquisitive face "Because of who I am. It's a long story but theoretically Brooklyn was meant to be the best beyblader that ever lived. He had a natural talent, it all comes from the genes. He was genetically designed to be the best."

"But he was beaten" Mariah pointed out "Sorry to bring it up" she smiled at Brooklyn "But if Kai beat you then you're obviously not the best!"

"No but him being beaten was the best thing that ever happened to him" Mrs Masefield responded cheerfully

"Mum I went crazy and tried to kill everyone!" Brooklyn stated incredulously

"Well... yes, after that. I mean you were such a quiet introverted kid, now you have friends you enjoy yourself more… best thing that ever happened to you!"

"Right" Brooklyn rolled his eyes. "perhaps you ought to fill Mariah in on the rest of the story, and maybe tell her who else I'm related to… I've never actually told Hilary the full story. I only found out myself after her death and besides it would've hurt her too much."

"It's a difficult story for me to tell" Mrs Masefield smiled sadly "Of course, you see I am a Hiwatari but my father was known as the weakling of the family. He had a genetic abnormality that affected his immune system, he died when I was very young. They blame that for Brooklyn's weakness in beyblading"

"So Brooklyn… who's your father?" Mariah ventured knowing by their avoidance of the issue that she was be treading on a tricky subject.

"Martin Tatibana"

"You mean like Hilary's dad?" Mariah exploded angrily "So you're like Kai's cousin and…Hilary's brother? Oh that's just weird!"

"Tell me about it" Brooklyn groaned "I'm just glad I didn't know this when Hil was alive, it would havwe freaked her out big time!"

A thought occurred to Mariah and she asked quietly "So Hilary's dad cheated on her mum?"

"Yes" Mrs Masefield didn't seem particularly sorry or regretful at this statement she just nodded. "We hadn't really got a choice in the matter, Martin is forever controlled by his father and when my own father died… I became controlled by my uncle. It wasn't until after Brooklyn was born that I managed to escape and even he managed to catch up with me. They agreed to live us in peace until Tala and the others went against them, that's when Boris returned for Brooklyn and there was nothing I could do."

"I still don't understand it all, why did they do it?" Mariah asked

"To explain I'm afraid you must go back a long time" Mrs Masefield sighed "Come with me"

Mariah and Brooklyn followed her from the kitchen into a small sitting room, they took a seat beside each other on the couch while Mrs Masefield knelt beside a cabinet. She was obviously looking for something. After a few minutes she pulled out a large box. Taking a seat opposite the two of them she opened up the box pulling out a photo. Handing it over she smiled "It all goes back to when Voltaire and Horatio were at boarding school together."

Taking the black and white picture Mariah looked down at the two young boys in it, one surprisingly similar to Kai, the other looked a little like Hilary's brothers. It was obvious who they both were, they wore a uniform, blazers, shirts, trousers even shoes were identical and they both stood in identical poses arms crossed and slight smirks as they stared at the camera.

Voltaire Hiwatari and Horatio Tatibana

_**60 years earlier**_

"Go back home you stinking Russian" a young thirteen year old boy with slate blue hair fell to the ground, he rolled onto his side coughing painfully. His green blazer was covered in dirt and his red and black tie was skewed from being used to almost strangle him to death. A hard kick to the stomach had him coughing up blood. He was surrounded by four tall boys all wearing the same uniform as him but looking a lot cleaner. They paused so that the oldest could ask.

"Well? What do you say Hiwatari?"

"Go to hell"

The four older boys were about to recommence with their attack on the boy when…

"Hey!" over to the left a boy with dark brown hair ran forward "Leave him alone!"

"Oh shit its Tatibana! Run" the group of boys dispersed fearfully and very quickly.

"Are you OK?" The newcomer dropped to his knees and helped the younger boy up

"Why the hell do you care?" Voltaire Hiwatari shrugged off the boys helping hands only to find himself falling forward. He was a bit annoyed, he hadn't asked for help and now he was in debt to this guy.

"Easy. Come on I'm trying to help…" strong hands caught him and held him upright "look lets get you to the nurses office"

"No! If I go there my father will find out!" he spat out some blood as he said this and wiped at his mouth with his blazer sleeve. "They call your parents if you go to the nurses room."

"And that's a bad thing?" the older boy asked curiously

"He hates me." it was a short answer but it seemed to be enough of an explanation as the other boy nodded "I can cope."

"Looks like you and I have something in common then, my father hates me too" The two boys walked into their school and up to the provided accommodation.

"I'm Voltaire Hiwatari" the injured boy offered up grudgingly

"Horatio Tatibana" he was told although there was no real reason for the introduction.

Everyone at the school knew who Horatio Tatibana was, he was the most well known and feared boy in the school, even the kids older than him didn't want to mess with him. The professors had long ago given up on punishing him.

They entered the elder boys room, he was over a year older and so had his own room. Voltaire was swung onto the bed where he lay back tired and sore.

Horatio patched up Voltaire as best he could totally ignoring the hisses of pain that sounded from the wounded boys mouth. Truth be told Voltaire preferred it that way he didn't like being pitied,

"You're on edge" Horatio muttered

"I guess. The way those guys ran when they saw you…, everyone knows who you are, you have a reputation" Voltaire replied trying to seem careless.

"The teachers don't think it's a good reputation to have but… I like it" Moving away satisfied that he had done all he could Horatio pulled out a box of cigarettes and taking one out offered the pack towards Voltaire. Voltaire paused unsure, he didn't smoke but what would this gut think of him if he didn't accept "You smoke?"

"I'm 14"

"I've been smoking since I was 12 there's a new theory out saying it stunts your growth" he looked down at himself, at 15 he was at least five foot nine and he didn't seem to be stopping just yet. He smiled "guess I'm an exception to the rule." Horatio didn't seem bothered that the other boy didn't smoke as he threw the box down on the bed and lit up.

"Well it's no wonder those guys are scared of you, with your height you could beat anyone in a fight"

"Yeah" Horatio nodded in agreement "Of course I've never had to"

"What do you mean You've never had to?"

"I've never had to win a fight, I've been at this school since I was 11 and I've never won a fight" he exhaled a plume of grey smoke. Voltaire fought the urge to cough.

"OK so you're saying that you have a tough reputation in this school without having ever been in a fight?" Voltaire stared at the older boy who was leaning against the wall smiling,

"No, I've been in a fight I just didn't win!"

"How does that work? I mean everyone's deathly afraid of you, those boys practically broke the sound barrier when they saw you coming. How did you get them all to fear you?"

"Simple really! Look when I was a kid I had an uncle, he knew what my dad was, he knew he was a bastard who'd never give me any help in this world, so he gave me the only good piece of advice that I ever got. 'If you get in a fight it don't mean shit whether or not you can fight like Bruce Lee. All that matters is that you go after the biggest one. Go after the largest and scariest guy in the group and you'll never have to fight again.' And I always remembered that." He took a drag on the cigarette and exhaled another smoke cloud before continuing "First day I was here, there was a group who liked to start fights, they saw me and figured that I had no chance, before I knew it I was surrounded, so I looked around and there he was the tallest, toughest and biggest guy of the lot. I just charged right at him and yelling, biting and kicking, I fought my hardest." another inhalation and exhalation of smoke.

"Did you win?" Voltaire asked in awe of the bravery being described

"Nah! I got beaten to a pulp, broke a rib, needed fifteen stitches and spent three days in hospital" both boys laughed at this "but after that people stayed away I used to hear them pointing and whispering 'don't go near Tatibana he's crazy' I walked around looking tough and I never had to fight again!"

Voltaire nodded smiling "I'll remember that next time I get in a fight!"

"Hang around with me a bit longer and no one will ever dare touch you again!"

--

_**Fifteen years later (45 years ago)**_

"So what you're saying is that the Tatibana bloodline and the Hiwatari bloodline have some sort of connection to the bit beasts?" Voltaire spoke into his telephone sounding surprised

"That's what my scientists believe, look I think that if someone had our genetic history they would be able to not only control the most powerful bit beasts but they would be unbeatable."

"Shame neither of us had any sisters." The two men smiled grimly

"Well we're both married now so it would have been too late." Horatio looked down at the picture of his wife on his desk.

"How is Hilary?"

"She's good, she seems to be finding the pregnancy easier this time. How about Natalya?"

"She's not been well." Voltaire sounded worried

"Have you thought about taking her to a doctor?"

"She doesn't wasn't to go!"

"Well she probably knows best!"

"I know I just don't want to lose her"

"She'll be fine Voltaire! Look I got to go I've a meeting with some new scientists in half an hour."

"Oh yeah anyone interesting?"

"One's called Zygart or Zygote, the other's called Dickenson or something like that. They're still young and idealistic I don't think I'll be employing them but it never hurts to just check."

"OK see you next month?"

"Sure" The two men hung up their phones. These days they were in different countries, their fathers were dead, they were incredibly wealthy but they still shared a special bond. They were both obsessed with the bit beasts and power!

_**Forty years ago**_

It was rare for the two men to be together but luckily for them a business deal had dragged them both from their offices and country. They sat talking together speaking about old times at their school and how much had changed in their lives. Voltaire was now a single father and a widower. Horatio was happily married and had three sons now, one seven year old and twins aged four.

"How are you these days?"

"I'm OK. I miss Natalya everyday."

"How's the boy?"

"Susumu's fine, how's your lot?"

"Fine! Noisy!" Horatio chuckled "Hilary's expecting another!"

"Congratulations, you two are lucky!"

"Yes we are." Horatio Tatibana didn't look like he totally believed this but he nodded, a thought occurred to Voltaire,

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything, you know that" Horatio nodded and waited for the question looking interested

"Do you love your sons?"

"Honestly? No." neither man was really shocked at this stateemnt. Threy had spent most of their younger lives belieinvg that no one loved them and it was easier to live without emotion. "I try to but sometimes I wonder if I really love anyone."

"Hilary?" Voltaire enquired

"I do love **her **but the boys not really, they're a disappointment, nothing like me at all. They're tough but not all that intelligent, but my wife loves them and I love her. Why do you ask?"

"I feel nothing for my son, it's a sad business but all I see when I see him is the boy who will one day inherit my work and business. I have only ever loved Natalya and so wondered if it was because his mother died giving birth to him, or maybe I'm just like my own father."

"Well that makes two of us, anyway we better get going" The two men stood, they were both standing in a large sleek office, they made their way out of the room and walked over to an elevator. "I was wondering," Horatio tapped his chin with a finger as he said this

"Wondering what?"

"Do you remember years ago our interest in bit-beasts?"

"Yes, we often talked about how wonderful it would be if one of us had a daughter to test the theory out on." Voltaire laughed "I suppose you'd have to supply the girl now!"

"You're not going to marry again are you?"

"No but my brother…" Voltaire paused "he recently had a daughter."

"Really?" Both men smiled at each other their interest peaked.

_**Thirty Five years ago.**_

"Congratulations! It's a boy Mr Tatibana" The nurse smiled as she walked forward and handed over the latest addition to the large family. Horatio sighed nine children they now had nine children and not one single girl.

"Isn't he wonderful?" Hilary lay in the bed smiling

"Yes" Horatio lied schooling his face into an expression of happiness "wonderful."

"Do you have a name yet?" the nurse smiled at the couple.

"No" Hilary sighed and lay back tired "not yet"

Suddenly the machines started beeping loudly, the woman on the bed started to convulse and all around him Horatio could see doctors and nurses start to panic.

"GET A CRASH CART IN HERE NOW!" Horatio was pushed out of the room watching helplessly as people worked on his wife.

Voltaire had rushed to the hospital, his best friend had just lost his wife and he knew he would be needed. He made his way to the maternity unit, when he got there he could see his friend sitting with a baby in his arms.

"Horatio?" Voltaire walked forward and sat next to the man "I'm sorry"

"Don't be. Thanks for coming Voltaire!" he looked down at the little boy in his arms "he's a boy as usual."

"What're you calling him?"

"Her last name was Brady so I'll call him that. It would be a boy"

"You say that like it's a bad thing"

"If she had at least had a girl it might have been worth it. I've lost her over this" There was a long silence between the two men as they sat in the hospital doing nothing. "Looks like your niece is going to be our test subject."

"Yes it does look that way."

_**Twenty one years ago**_

"Another grandson, I should have known" Horatio laughed looking down at the child.

"A boy" Voltaire whispered looking at his great nephew lying asleep in his crib.

"Yes, all we can do is hope that his grandfathers weakness was not passed down to him." Horatio spoke quietly as he regarded the small baby "he already has the red hair"

Voltaire nodded looking at the light orange fuzz on the tiny head. "He will be a fine beyblader" the two men nodded in smug agreement until a new voice intruded on the conversation.

"I don't want him to be a beyblader"

Both men turned surprised at the newcomers interruption, Voltaire fixed a glare on his face while Horatio smiled happily

"Martin! You should be proud, you have ensured that our family continues in a great tradition known…"

"I said no" Martin hissed "Look that kid is innocent to all this, you can't just use him for your own needs."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Horatio asked his face suddenly becoming cruel "Are you going to protect him, take him home, add him to your family? What would Abigail think to all that? How will she feel when you explain that you have a son by another woman?"

Martin said nothing, his betrayal to his wife hung over him daily, it was like a weight around his neck and it made him physically sick to remember that he had broken his marriage vows. There were few things in this world that he knew he could not cope with, and losing Abigail he freely acknowledged would be the death of him. He had become more distant from her lately, working longer hours, staying away from her even when he was home. His guilt was slowly eating away at him.

"Exactly off you go, back to your family Martin" Horatio scolded him as though he were once more a child refusing to go to bed. "Now I don't need anything more from you, so I will not tell Abigail." Horatio moved forward threatening "But if you try to go against me again remember, I can and will destroy you."

_**Eighteen Years ago**_

Sighing audibly Voltaire stared down at the charts in front of him, he had been studying Brooklyn's formative years for sometime but the boy seemed to catch every illness under the sun. He was also prone to stating indoors and didn't enjoy with any physical activities, so much for this young boy being the perfect beyblader with a natural talent.

They were practically giving up on him altogether allowing Brooklyn's mother to take him away and try to live a normal life. It wasn't as though they were going to lose track of him, but while the boy showed no evidence of talent there was no point in holding him. Maybe there would be a use for him later.

"Voltaire Hiwatari I want you to meet someone, this is my youngest son Brady, Brady meet my oldest friend" a welcome intrusion in the form of Voltaire's oldest friend had the man smiling.

"Hello Mr Hiwatari" Brady Tatibana was edgy as he looked up into the face of Voltaire

"Hello Brady your father tells me your quite the genius of the family." Voltaire smiled at the boy. Recently the two men had discovered a new interest in cybernetics. The use of new technology to increase the abilities of young bladers. The two men had long since given up on being able to continue their bloodline, Brooklyn seemed the only chance and he had proven to be a sickly child. Voltaire's son and his wife had produced a boy and it looked like the Tatibanas were incapable of producing a girl. Over forty grandchildren and not a single girl!

Brady was an intelligent boy and Horatio had discovered that his youngest was considered by his teachers to be a genius in cybernetics work. Brady smiled nervously at them he was excited to be able to do this work but there was something odd about this situation and he couldn't quite work out what it was.

_**Three weeks later (still eighteen years ago)**_

"It's a girl dad" Ian Tatibana walked away from his sister in law and towards his father holding a newborn baby in his arms, Voltaire and Horatio looked at each other in amazement, a girl, finally!

"Here's your first ever granddaughter isn't she amazing? Martin would be the first to give you a girl."

"Amazing" Horatio breathed as he took the tiny girl from his son who was beaming at his first niece.

"We're going to call her Hilary after your wife if that's OK with you?" Abigail asked looking tired as she lay on the bed, "I've spoken to Martin about it on the phone and he'd love it. He should be here soon"

"It's fine, absolutely fine." Horatio watched as the child in his arms yawned.

If his son had been here and known however just exactly what was going through the mans mind he would have grabbed his daughter away and hidden her from the world. But unfortunately for Hilary and her family and her future friends neither her uncle nor her mother had no clue as to what this doting grandfather was like and the family just smiled at the proud man as his granddaughter snuggled into his embrace.

Watching from the doorway Martin Tatibana growled low in his throat, his father had recently mentioned a job opening up in Bakuten Japan that would need his attention. Looking at the way Horatio Tatibana stared at the baby Martin suddenly made a decision. He would take the job, get his daughter away form her grandfather and maybe, just maybe, **she** could have a normal life.

--

Once the story was over Mariah stood and walked away from the two Masefield's. Looking out the window trying to get her head around all she been told, suddenly a movement got her attention. Leaning forward she squinted staring outside in time to see a man walk from a car and make his way towards the house "Oh my God" Mariah hissed still staring out the window, luckily the netting curtain obscured her from view so she didn't think he'd seen her.

"What's up?" Brooklyn asked walking over to stand beside her

"Lando" she pointed to where she could see the team Thunderbolt player trying to open the door.

"Yeah I see him" Brooklyn nodded looking into the house, "he's got that other guy with him"

"Kendall" Mariah whispered in agreement rage was filling her whole being as she stared at the man across the road.

"What are you both talking about?" Brooklyn's mother walked over to join them, staring out the window.

"The people in that house work for Boris" Mariah explained

"The people that are in that house? They live there, moved in about a week ago."

"Shit" Brooklyn swore receiving a sharp slap around the back of the head from his mother

"Watch your language!"

"Ow! Mum they're murderers!"

"That's no excuse for swearing!"

"Yeah plus they're not murderers really" Mariah pointed out giggling a little at Brooklyn's mother "please remember that Hilary might not be dead."

"So what do we do?" Brooklyn asked

"I don't know" Mariah bit her lip nervously

"Well it must be me they're watching" Brooklyn's mother spoke up "They don't think Brooklyn knows where he comes from and they don't both usually leave unless I do. I never really thought about it before."

Finally making her decision Mariah pulled her phone from her pocket and dialled a number.

--

Panting heavily from exertion Kai repeatedly hit the punch bag hanging in the centre of the training room that Renaldo had set up for him. He was becoming increasingly exasperated by the lack of action on his part. He was beginning to really regret not taking out Hilary's grandfather before the funeral, all that crap about respecting her wishes at least until she was at peace and now he could do nothing to avenge her. His one aim, his only goal in life was ruined.

With a yell he hit the bag again before collapsing exhausted to the ground.

"Maybe you should take a break" a friendly voice suggested, Kai merely ignored the advice and standing up began to once more assault the punch bag.

Feeling serious for once Renaldo watched with concern as Kai began to work himself up again, he had seen the younger man get into a frenzy like this before but never with such recklessness. He wondered what Tala would do or say in his position, he was Kai's closest… friend? It was hard to tell what those two though of each other, were they friends or not. Well Renaldo decided that they were friends.

A slight buzzing noise alerted both Renaldo and Kai that Kai's cell phone was ringing, to Renaldo's surprise Kai actually stopped to answer.

"What do you want?"

Ok so he wasn't being polite but at least something had stopped him from training himself into a bloody pulp. Watching Kai's face Renaldo was surprised by the hardening of Kai's eyes had the sudden determination on his face

"Where?"

The question was asked in a tone that could only be described as icy cold, Renaldo even managed a slight shiver.

"What do you mean be careful…?" another long silence during which Kai made little grunts of acknowledgement "fine, I'm on my way, and we'll do it your way."

Kai hung up without another word.

"Who was that?"

"Mariah" Kai looked up at Renaldo his eyes angry "she's found Kendall and Lando"

"Really," Renaldo was shocked, they had been trying to track them down for ages. "well that's good news."

"sort of" Kai muttered hanging his head miserably "she wants us to handle it all carefully, apparently she thinks they may be able to give us information on something."

"She has a point" Renaldo agreed "they may know where Horatio and Voltaire are, if we get them in for interrogation we may get something about their location."

"Yea" Kai agreed, Renaldo noticed a slight change had come overt his friend, the dropping shoulders had suddenly become taut and ready for action, Kai's hands tightened and balled into fists, lifting his head up to look at Renaldo Kai revealed a sadistic smile that actually gave the other man chills.

"You aright Kai?"

"Mm-hm" Kai nodded and pulled out his phone again "but I'm going to need Tala for this, interrogation was one of our specialties."

Renaldo suddenly had a very distressing flashback of the abbey as he remembered the times when someone had gotten on the wrong side of either Tala or Kai. Hearing men older than himself screaming in pain was not something he wished to remember and suddenly he felt very sorry for the two men who were about to be brought in.

"I'll call the others" Renaldo offered, he knew that the old blade breaker team would want to be here for this and who knew maybe one of them would be able to control the incensed Kai. Then again the sheer number of people that were here when the two were brought in could terrify the men into spilling before Tala and Kai became too violent.

--

"Grandfather?" Hilary approached the old man cautiously, she was done with her days training and now had a couple of hours with nothing to do until dinner. She wanted to question him about Voltaire. Ever since she had caught him creeping about her room at night she wanted to know that he was trustworthy.

"Hilary" he looked up and seemed so pleased to see her that she almost forgot how uncomfortable she sometimes felt here. "What is it child?"

"It's about Voltaire… do you trust him?"

He frowned a little confused… no not confused he looked worried about what she was asking "Why do you ask?"

"Last night and the night before he…" she paused "he just stared at me in a funny way, he makes me nervous"

Horatio laughed, it was a deep and throaty chuckle but he simply shook his head, "My dear girl… he is a little odd but I would trust him with my life."

"Right" Hilary didn't sound entirely convinced but she nodded

"He was very close to my wife -your grandmother- and I when we were first married, you look very like her."

"I do?" Hilary grinned happily, she loved to hear him talk about the family, it upset her that she remembered none of them but she liked hearing the stories and seeing the pictures.

"Yes… Come here" he patted the sofa next to him and Hilary made her way quickly over and snuggled into the cosy warmth of her grandfather. Reaching Behind him he pulled out two objects, one was a silver box that he promptly handed over. "This was salvaged from the fires destruction, it was your grandmothers, she always wanted to pass it onto one of her daughters, unfortunately she was never able to and she died long before you were born. When you turned six I gave it to you, my only granddaughter."

"It's beautiful" Hilary whispered taking the ornate box in her hands and studying it carefully

"Do you remember it?"

"No" she didn't sound upset this time as she answered the negative she just sounded curious as she opened the box. It was empty but for some reason there was a nagging feeling that there should be something there. "There should be something in it" she whispered

"What do you mean?" his harsh tone surprised her and Hilary turned to face her grandfather smiling nervously.

"Did I never have any jewellery?"

"Oh" he smiled his formidable expression gone "Yes I imagine you did, I merely asked them to send the box, they must have taken me at my word."

Hilary giggled and then looked at the other item he had picked up "What's that?"

"Now this" he said with a grin "was your grandmothers photo box, she kept a number of old photos in it that I thought you might want to see"

"How did it survive the fire?"

"I kept it at work" he smiled and opening the box pulled out a large photo album filled with black and white photos. In the photo was a young woman wearing a beautiful lace gown and young man wearing a Black suit. There was a flower at the mans buttonhole and the lady held a bouquet of white flowers. They were smiling broadly and Hilary saw so much of herself in that lady she instantly knew who it was

"It's you and Grandmother on your wedding day" she laughed "you look so happy"

"We defied convention" he chuckled "you weren't supposed to smile like that in those days, everyone expected you to keep quite a straight face in photos but we were so happy. Now this one" It was another black and white photo and this time Voltaire and a young woman stood in the picture, they too were smiling and looking happy, beside Voltaire stood Horatio and beside the bride was Hilary's grandmother.

"Voltaire's wedding?" she questioned

"Yes, I was his best man and my wife -Hilary- was his wife's maid of honour. We were very close. Do you see now why you remind him so much of your grandmother, you're named after her too, sometimes it's hard to see you and not see her."

"I understand" Hilary smiled happy to have it all straightened out so easily and clutching the jewellery box she rested her head on her grandfathers shoulder and spent a happy hour looking through the photos from the photo albums.

* * *

BTW. Just once more… did no one notice the big thing that happened in the last chapter…seriously?

The next chapter may contain some slightly more… adult stuff.. Nothing really graphic but Kai may be about to get violent.

Please R&R


	10. Torturous truth

Ok, about what happened in chapter 8 please don't worry, it was just something small slipped in that I thought a few people might notice but obviously no one did. It wasn't supposed to be really noticeable but I thought someone might mention it.

Can I also just go really weird for a moment and say I LOVE SNOW!!! Snow leads to icy roads, icy roads leads to no buses, no buses leads to no school, no school leads to a new chapter for my readers delectation and delight!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Standing alone in the gardens Hilary stared up at the darkening sky. The thunderclouds were rolling in grey and depressing. Kind of like me. Hilary thought to herself, she was beginning to get fed up with the current state of things. How was she supposed to ever feel normal if she was stuck here? Her grandfather had explained about the accident she had suffered, the fire that had consumed her home and parents. Every time she spoke of maybe seeing the areas where she had once lived he always made excuses. He didn't want her leaving this place without him. He often gave her the guilt trip about how he had lost her parents and didn't want to lose her to. It actually pissed her off how he did that.

The last thing she ever wanted to do was upset her grandfather and so whatever he asked of her she agreed to.

It wasn't hard to keep her obedient.

Still… it was there, that feeling within her, a need to get out.

A feeling of imprisonment. But... she was surrounded by family.

Why did she feel so out of place?

Above her the clouds rumbled and drops of water started to fall from the sky, stretching out her arms Hilary smiled as the rain fell slowly at first and then increasing in strength until Hilary couldn't distinguish one drop of rain from the other. It was like sheets of water falling around her, slowly the rain penetrated her light jacket and shirt until she could feel the wet clothes clinging to her body.

"Hilary!!"

Turning Hilary could see her Aunt standing at the window, the woman was instructing her to come inside. Nodding Hilary lifted an arm in agreement, slowly she made the short walk to the house, she was about t enter when a thought occurred to her. Turning to face the sky once more she inhaled deeply staring longingly at the sky. She loved the smell of the rain and the grey of the clouds, it made her feel… safe?

How weird was that?

She would have pondered it a bit longer but the call from her aunt came once more and sighing Hilary entered the dry confines of the house.

--

"No way!"

Sitting in a tree a dark figure lowered her binoculars to shake her head, as soon as she was satisfied that she was indeed thinking sensibly she returned the device to her eyes and returned her gaze to the large mansion. She was watching from a distance as a familiar looking brunette stood staring up at the thunderous sky.

Putting up a hand she refocused her viewer and adjusted the range so she could see more clearly.

"She's dead" the figure whispered "She was definitely dead. Everyone said so."

The rain started to fall and straining against the weather she watched as closely as she could, Hilary remained outside seemingly uncaring about the rain. The figure in the tree didn't exactly share her view, she was getting annoyed as water fell trickling down her neck and running down her back. Glad of her waterproof jacket the woman shivered lightly before pulling up her hood to keep herself as dry as possible.

Suddenly Hilary turned and responded to something behind her, turning and looking up at the window. Watching from the tree the figure could see a blonde woman that she didn't recognise. Shrugging she returned her scrutiny to the brunette who was beginning to walk into the house. Obviously in this weather she wasn't going to be getting any better looks at the people in the house. Still she had found something that she not only considered to be of great interest but also kind of impossible.

Picking up her phone the woman began to dial a number, holding the phone to her ear she waited for a response.

"Please state the code" an officious voice commanded from the other end of the phone

"Alpha Kilo Victor Tango 3 7 1 8"

"Putting you through…" another pause and then a long drawn out tone and several clicks.

"Agent Sanders?"

The woman nodded before hissing into the hone "Yeah it's me, I need to talk to Cheryl or Jake… it's urgent"

"It's against regu…"

"NOW" The agent yelled angrily

"…I'll go get one of them"

There was a short period of silence on the other end of the phone, sitting in the tree Agent Sanders became more than a little impatient but finally she heard someone coming for the phone.

"Agent Sanders?" it was Cheryl, not exactly the best of the two options but good enough for now.

"Cheryl I'm watching the old house"

"You've found something!?! Is Voltaire, Boris or Horatio there?"

"No but someone else is, Cheryl this is going to sound stupid but it's…"

A gunshot sounded.

The line went dead.

Cheryl stared at the phone as the silence said more than words ever could. Whatever Agent Sanders had found out had gotten her killed. "Agent Tatibana what has happened?" The voice broke through her thoughts and reminded her that she was and agent and was here to do a job.

"Agent down" Cheryl whispered hanging up.

"Sanders?"

"Yes, we need to get a team out to the old mansion now"

"We also need to move our base, if they've got her phone they may be able to track us down, I know we're careful but we don't take chances. I'll contact Agent's Tatibana and Oxley, get them to our next destination."

Cheryl nodded but her mind was stuck on the agent that had died, if the people they were trying to find had discovered her, then they now knew that they were being followed, looked for. They were going to be a lot more careful now and if they were really clever, then even MI5 couldn't catch up to them.

--

Hiding from the police could be easy, really easy, all you needed was someone else's clean identity, a place where you weren't known and you were set. Kendall and Lando had been living in plain sight for many weeks and still no one had caught up to them. They both knew that the police were not the only ones looking for them but Boris had managed to promise them a certain amount of anonymity in return for further help. It was an easy job to keep an eye on Brooklyn Masefield's mother, she was a kindly and accepting lady who had no clue that they were wanted by the police.

It was late night when the two of them settled down to a Chinese takeaway, they were having a familiar argument over what to watch on TV when suddenly everything went black.

"Damn it!" Kendall could hear Lando cursing in the dark, it was hard to make him out in this light. Looking out the window he noticed that the entire street was in darkness, even the streetlights had gone.

"Power cut" he muttered

"Ya think?" Lando asked sarcastically "do we have any torches?"

"Umm," Kendall scratched the back of his head as he tried to remember if they had any torches in the house. "We have candles in the kitchen I think" he started to get up but stopped

"I'm closer, I'll go" Lando pulled himself up and slowly made his way across the floor treading carefully in the dark.

"The drawer next to the cooker" Kendall yelled instructively, he received an acknowledging grunt from Lando who entered the kitchen and started moving around.

Remaining where he was Kendall listened to his team-mate moving around suddenly there was an exclamation and a crash. Standing in the dark Kendall directed his gaze towards the kitchen "Lando?"

There was no response, dropping down into a crouching position. Lifting up his trouser leg he un-holstered the gun he kept at his ankle, holding the weapon up against his shoulder Kendall rose up to stand.

"You OK mate?" Kendall called out again, still no response, gingerly he walked across the floor keeping his paces small and stepping lightly he moved towards the kitchen. In the dark his hearing became his main sense and he relied upon it. Listening carefully he tried to hear something, anything. Moving to the kitchen door he tried to make out shaped in the kitchen, he couldn't see anything, it was pitch black. He decided to call out one more time.

"Lan…"

He was cut off as something hit his right temple knocking him to the floor, his gun dropped to the ground and before he could search for it in the dark he was grabbed from behind, two hands raised them up and his arms were wrenched painfully behind his back and held in place.

Suddenly, the electricity went back on flooding the room with light, Kendall still struggling with his attacker squinted in the sudden brightness. In front of him stood a tall figure that quickly came into focus as he looked confusedly ahead

"Hello Kendall"

A cold hand of fear gripped at Kendall's heart as he stared into the cold merciless eyes of Kai Hiwatari.

"Kai…" he hissed fearfully, glancing behind the Russian he could see the prone figure of Lando on the floor.

"It's been a while, I'm sure you've missed me…" Kai smirked at him "but I promise by the time I'm done with you, you're never going to want to see me again. Of course by the time I'm done with you, you won't be seeing anyone ever again."

--

"How is she these days?" Voltaire asked as he watched Hilary running on her treadmill once more, there was no denying that the girl was getting bored and to tell the truth so was he. He wanted to put their plan into action soon but Horatio kept holding back saying that Hilary 'wasn't ready yet'.

"She is doing well" Horatio nodded "the doctor says there is no sign of real trauma or inner conflict right now. She is accepting her memory loss and is becoming very trusting of me."

"So we begin soon?" Voltaire pressed.

Horatio held in a sigh, for the first time in years he had his granddaughter back, she trusted him in a way none of the rest of the family did. She actually seemed to adore him and she was incredibly submissive, he knew that it was in part thanks to the drugs she was still receiving daily but he liked it. Still they had an objective to follow, this was his life's work, a legacy.

"We begin next week" Horatio spoke with an air of finality "she will be at her most fertile"

"Very good" Voltaire nodded smirking a little, he was looking forward to getting to work and technically the child would be his.

--

Millie watched as Kai practically threw Lando from the car leaning in and dragging Kendall out as well. She wasn't the only one here, Max was beside her, Ray, Tyson and Kenny lined up as well but it was the looks on their faces that almost killed her. They all looked so filled with hatred and anger, even Tia, her cousin who despite her tough façade was one of the nicest people she had ever known had her fists clenched as though ready to fight. For once Renaldo was devoid of all frivolousness as he himself knew what was coming.

Moving away from the group she was with Millie headed to where Mariah stood with Tia, taking the pink haired girls hand she led her away to whisper

"Mariah, we've got to tell em"

"How?" Mariah asked "look around you, they are filled with so much hate, how can we even begin to tell them something we don't even know is true?"

"I don't know but…" Millie shook her head "they'll kill them"

"Then we better hope that those two crack before that happens" Mariah shrugged "We better hope that they confirm what we're thinking, or we got two dead bodies to deal with."

Millie was stunned at the relaxed way Mariah said these words, offering up a silent prayer she begged whoever was listening that she was right in her assumptions. The group of friends Hilary had left behind were beginning to lose sight if who they used to be. They needed their friend back, maybe she could remind them of who they were before and what good people they used to be.

--

Voltaire looked around the table quite satisfied with what he was seeing, Hilary was sitting talking happily with her uncle and aunt occasionally disturbed by her nephew who would every now and then make an odd comment getting their attention before happily retuning to his meal. Looking at Horatio next to him the two men exchanged smiles, everything was becoming so easy these days and in a weeks time everything would be on track.

Well hopefully.

Of course with this sense of complacency in residence they should have been ready for the next development. They had after all, learned long ago that nothing is ever easy and to assume that all is well… well as the old saying goes 'when you assume something you make an ass out of u and me'.

A knock at the door intruded on this happy time and everyone looked up in time to see a harassed man striding into the room.

Boris made his way directly to Voltaire's side standing between the two older men.

"We've been breached" Boris whispered in a such a low volume that both men had to strain to hear it. Of course the moment they understood they simultaneously jumped to their feet.

Both men knew that in the rest of the house teams of people were packing up everything that was associated to either their work or them and getting ready to transport the whole lot. They also knew that another team would be working getting said transport ready getting a private plane ready, making sure that the flight plan wouldn't cause problems. They were always prepared for this and had an immediate location to travel to.

"What's wrong grandfather?" Only Hilary looked really curious, Sammy didn't notice any thing was going on and Samantha and Brady were both pretty sure they knew what was happening right now. This had taken place before and it meant one thing.

They were about to leave.

"There's been an emergency at work, we need to leave" Voltaire spoke quickly

"You and Grandfather?" Hilary asked looking at the two of them, it was obvious from her face that the loss of Voltaire wouldn't affect her but she really didn't want to lose her grandfather. The two of them spent a great deal of time together.

"All of us" Horatio smiled blithely "Only Voltaire and I need to be there but it's going to be a long project so we'll take you all along as well. I think you'd like America we have a large house there."

"America?" Hilary asked smiling widely, her whole face lit up at the idea of going somewhere else "You'd take me with you to America?"

"Of course!" Horatio smiled as well, he was well aware that Hilary was getting bored of spending all her time in one place, perhaps the move would do her good.

"What about my doctor?" Hilary asked her face falling as she thought of a problem that could stand in her way "He wanted me to be at another appointment next week."

All three men flinched, if they didn't start the process next week then they may have to wait another month for Hilary to be ready. They would obviously be taking the man with them but Hilary thought that the doctor was just a regular guy who worked in a hospital or surgery the rest of the time. They would have to worry about that more later.

"I'll get you another doctor" Horatio spoke with authority "Worst comes to worst we'll fly the doctor out"

"Excellent" Hilary left her seat and ran around the table to hug her grandfather "When do we leave?"

"As soon as you're packed" Horatio told her cheerfully responding to the hug

"You mean now?" Hilary pulled back surprised, she glanced behind her at the rest of her family who all looked quite calm about this sudden move, before turning back to ask "So soon?"

"We have a huge crisis, we need to be there as soon as possible" Voltaire told her quickly.

Hilary stood away from the two men and looked at them appraisingly, tilting her head to one side as she considered them she then turned to gaze at Boris. It was obvious that her mind was speculating about what they might not be telling her.

Behind her Samantha and Brady exchanged looks, as tempted as they both were to side with Hilary and suggest that they stayed around allowing whoever was chasing them to catch them, they knew they couldn't. Sitting beside Brady was the one reason that they ever did anything for Voltaire and Horatio these days, little Sammy was staring curiously at Hilary but still shovelled food into his mouth quite contentedly.

They exchanged a quick look and a nod.

"Hilary?" Samantha stood quickly "lets go get packed, the house in America has a pool, we wanna make sure that the people packing for us don't forget our swimsuits!"

"A pool?" Hilary turned to grin at her aunt "That sounds so cool..." she paused looking worried for a second "Wait…, can I swim?"

--

In the dark and dank room Kendall and Lando sat tied to their chairs watching as Kai and Tala stalked around them, the rest of the group (on the advice of Ian, Brian and Spencer) stood away from what was about to happen.

Millie seemed to be the only one in the group averse to what was happening, everyone else had accepted that Kai was going to torture the two men until he found out where his grandfather and Hilary's grandfather was and then he would kill them both. She had tried to quietly broach upon the subject that maybe, as Hilary wouldn't have wanted it this way they should avoid torture but all she had received was looks of disbelief. Of course part of her secretly admitted to wanting to know what was going to happen, part of her really believed that if she allowed the torture to go ahead and she didn't say anything that one of the men would let something slip. Clenching her fists she began to pray that one of them would confirm her suspicions before it was too late.

Placed in between the two boys there was a table on it there were various instruments that Kendall was eyeing in horror. Lando sat cold and silent, his face showed no emotion but his entire body was tense.

Kai was totally ignoring Lando, his attention completely on the other team thunderbolt member. He had good reason to hate Kendall, he had been a bully to many during the games and he was still not over what the bastard had done to Hilary. He smiled as he walked over to the table. Picking up what looked like a gas canister to the rest of the group he grinned at the dark haired man in front of him.

"Kendall, Kendall, Kendall" there was a mocking tone to his voice as his eyes took in the fear on the other mans face "you know what this is right?"

Kai tilted his head to one side before lighting up the blowtorch, taking a knife from the table Kai held the metal under the blue flame smiling as the heat began to feed it's way into the room. Even though the torch was as yet nowhere near him Kendall could feel the warmth.

"Now this can be done the easy way, or it can be done the hard way. We know you're still in touch with Boris somehow. We need to know where he is" Kai was stern as he said this "and you two are going to help us"

"I don't have to help you do anything" Kendall spoke loudly in one last ditch attempt at bravery.

It was the wrong thing to say, before he had even finished talking properly Kai had moved forward and taking the knife out from under the flame he laid it flat along Kendall's arm.

The man screamed in pain making any of the watchers that weren't from the Abbey turn away in revulsion. It was an almost unbearable sound and Ray instinctively placed his hands over Mariah's ears while Max wrapped his arm around Millie's waist. Both men were instantly wishing that the women they loved weren't here right now. That sound was the stuff of nightmares.

"That wasn't the right answer. Check him Tala" Kai nodded to his team mate, Tala stood forward and soon advanced on Kendall, Millie was worried, she had not expected things to get this violent. She stayed still noting the fear on the others faces, she glanced briefly at Max and saw that there was a harsh look in his eyes, his whole face looked almost evil. Tia looked no better as she switched her view to her cousins face, she looked down at her hands not wanting to see what happened next.

Tala inspected the wound Kai had made before nodding "He'll be ok, it's not gonna kill him too soon, you can keep going"

"We don't contact him" Kendall yelled as Kai put the knife under the flame again letting it heat up

"But you're still working for him"

"We don't initiate contact, he gets in touch with us!"

"Kendall!!!" Lando glared at the other man as he sat in his chair "Keep your trap shut, whatever they do it can't be worse than what Boris would do if he finds out you talked."

"Wanna bet?" Kai asked and he pulled the knife out of the flame once more but this time he pressed down on Lando's arm. To his credit Lando only hissed in pain, his face went deathly white but he refused to cry out instead he just started at Kai with anger in his eyes.

"Look Boris contacts us, we have no clue which country he's even in."

"So you're of no real use to us" Kai murmered and evil gleam in his eye as he looked at the man in the chair. Turning off the blowtorch he placed it down carefully on the table before picking up the knife and began using the hot sharp metal to draw scratchy intricate patterns on Kendall's arm. His face was intent on his work and Kai actually revelled in the gasps and cries of pain that fell from Kendall's lips.

"Stop, let us tell you" Kendall yelled as his skin burned under Kai's ministrations. "Please"

"Is it about where those men are? Are you going to answer my question?"

"No… but please…" his voice was getting weaker as he begged "don't."

"You can beg all you want" Kai muttered angrily grabbing Kendall's throat with one hand "but you two killed her, he even went so far as to hold her down when they were in the water. You have no idea how lucky you are. I'm not going to make you suffer as long as he will. You'll die sooner. He will suffer for hour, upon hour, upon hour. And even then I may not kill him"

Both men stared at Kai fear in their eyes, it wasn't until Kai picked up the blowtorch again that Kendall began to yell to Lando

"Tell them Lando, tell them! It's the only way!"

Still and silent Lando said nothing, he kept his lips and eyes closed as Kai advanced on him and his team mate, upon seeing this Kai smirked and continued towards his victim "There's nothing that he can tell me that will make me relent nothing at all."

He had just lit up the blowtorch and was heading for Kendall when…

"SHE'S ALIVE!"

* * *

Please R&R


	11. A quick move

Ok two updates in just under a week, aren't you all privileged and can everyone please stop complaining about the chapter length? Here's what I want you all to do, open up a document and type out over 2000 words for a chapter, I never put up a chapter under 1000 words and 2000 is about my average but it's tough work!!

Thanks for reviewing though!

I do not own beyblade!

* * *

Previously in Things Have Changed

--

Still and silent Lando said nothing, he kept his lips and eyes closed as Kai advanced on him and his team mate, upon seeing this Kai smirked and continued towards his victim "There's nothing that he can tell me that will make me relent nothing at all."

He had just lit up the blowtorch and was heading for Kendall when…

"SHE'S ALIVE!"

--

And Now

* * *

Silence.

Not even Kendall's gasps of pain continued after his declaration.

No one knew what to say or do, they just stood staring at the scene in front of them as though frozen place.

Finally Kai snapped back into reality, dropping his tools of torture he grabbed Kendall by the collar of his shirt with one hand and pulling his other hand back punched the man across the jaw

"LIAR!" He yelled placing both hands around Kendall's throat and tightening his hold "How can you even begin to try…"

"He's not lying"

The voice was soft and female, not letting go of his victim Kai looked over his shoulder to find Millie standing behind him. She looked nervous her eyes filled with apprehension as she stood ready to talk. Kai stared at her incredulously his hands loosening a little but not enough to ease Kendall's pain.

"At least, I don't think he is…, let him go. Please!"

Turning back to glare at his victim Kai took intense pleasure in the fact that the man was turning an odd shade of blue.

"Please Kai" Millie begged desperately "I really do think he's telling the truth. If you let him go I'll explain it to you."

With a grunt of disgust Kai nodded and finally let go of the choking Kendall "If he doesn't tell us what we want to know, I will kill him" Kai muttered standing away from the dark haired young man.

Unsurprisingly Kendall was unable to speak after his treatment but it looked as though Lando was close to opening up so Millie moved towards him.

"Tell me Lando, who owned the boat that you dragged Hilary onto after you both went over the cliff?" Silence "How long was it before you were dropped off at the house opposite Mrs Masefield's?" still more silence, Tala moved forward threateningly but Millie merely held up a hand indicating that he shouldn't interfere "When did you get the word to kill Dr Kroeger?"

Eyes wide Lando stared at Millie, after a few seconds he smiled and nodded approvingly "How long did it take you to work out that she was alive?"

"Not long" Millie admitted

"It was the post mortem wasn't it?" Lando asked seeming more and more amused as the time ticked by "Boris knew that was a loose end, I guess we killed old Kroeger before you found anything out"

"Yeah, that was a part of it, of course I first got suspicious when Horatio paid off the crematorium so that they would burn Hilary's body early" Millie nodded a familiar feeling of revulsion rising up in her throat as she thought of the poor man who's only crime was doing his job. "I actually found him, Dr Kroeger, you did a good job, he really looked like he had killed himself."

"I'm proud of my work" Lando laughed "you know I should have figured out that you were going to be a problem, you distracted Kendall, you were smart enough to hack into the Tatibana Inc files… Brady told us about it… and now this. If you weren't here Kai wouldn't have believed what Kendall just said, he would've choked the life out of him, killed me and that would have been it. I should've gotten rid of you long ago."

"And anyone with any sense would have gotten rid of you but that's not the point, want to know what I know?"

"Please, I think you've got an avid audience behind you as well."

Millie turned to find that he was correct, everyone, with the exception of Mariah, stood staring at her in complete disbelief.

"Millie what's going on?" Max asked quietly Millie sighed and moved closer to the group of Hilary's friends. Picking up her bag she pulled out the copy of the report that Kai had given her and then began to explain.

"After Hilary's death there were too many unanswered questions, so much didn't make sense, so eventually I went to Kai and asked for a copy of the autopsy report. There's no mention in the report of the scar on her arm, the one she got when she was shot. At first I thought that they might have just left that out, that's why I went to see the guy who did the autopsy, to ask him about it."

"And?"

"Didn't you just hear? He's dead, apparently he hung himself" Millie put a hand over her stomach as she told them this bit "It was horrible"

"It still doesn't prove anything" Kai told her but inside he was beginning to get hopeful, he couldn't help it, after so long without any hope of happiness ever again he was letting this little blonde girl tell him anything she could.

"I know it doesn't prove anything but I think he was killed to keep him quiet and there's more… Kai…" Millie looked directly at him "the autopsy report definitely says that she was virgo intacto"

"Um…..what's that?" Tyson asked

"It's a medical term, it basically means that the Hilary we cremated was a virgin"

"What?" Kai stood and grabbed the report from her hands "but that's impossible!"

Unable to stop herself Millie grinned "Yeah that's what I suspected!"

"Hold Up" Rays eyes flashed angrily "you and Hilary?"

"Not now Ray" Mariah sighed as she took his hand "you can go all hypocritically big brother-ish when Millie tells you the rest"

"It's simple" Millie told them still looking at Kai "if the girl we cremated was a virgin then she wasn't Hilary!"

"But I saw her" Kai told them sadly his whole face pained "I couldn't have been mistaken"

"You could have been tricked though, Kenny do you remember that file we found in Tatibana Incs secret files"

"Which one?"

"The Dolly files"

"The dolly fi…..? Wait you mean the cloning report?" Kenny asked "but that never worked, the clones would die within minutes, an hour was the longest any of them lasted."

"Exactly, but the time of death was always a bit odd as well." Millie told him seriously "Look they still have that cloning facility, if they had a sample of Hilary's DNA they could clone her a body, get a set up where Hilary would die and then…"

"Then present the dead clone" Kenny agreed "as the real Hilary"

"Getting the real Hilary away from us and being sure we'd never look for her, guys….she's out there somewhere." Tyson whispered completely stunned by this announcement. "Wait!" Turning to face the two men tied to the chairs he frowned before asking "You had my little nephew with you, what were you planning to do with him if Hilary hadn't saved him?"

"Who? The Kid?" Lando asked smiling "well I would have thought that was obvious, he's have been let go, he'd have had a fifty, fifty chance of survival same as…"

Tyson didn't let the man finish as his fist connected painfully with Lando's jaw effectively silencing him. Swearing angrily Tyson pulled his fist back again and punched at Lando again only this time there was so much power behind the punch the entire chair was rocked by it and Lando fell chair and all to the side.

"Your lucky" Tyson hissed angrily "You're lucky you might still be of some use to us, if you weren't" he knelt next to Lando smirking "I'd kill you, who knows, once this is all over I might still do that."

Standing Tyson walked back to the group nursing his fist, looking around he was surprised by the approving looks he was getting from the Blitzkrieg Boys.

"What I don't get is why" asking the question that had been bothering him since all this began, Tala spoke before anyone else could start, "Hilary is no beyblader she's never going to be the perfect blader and that's what they've been working on for years…. Right?"

"Ah yes" Mariah nodded "but they didn't want to train her, they needed her to help create the perfect blader. That's where Brooklyn comes into it all!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kai asked in a deadly serious tone "What do they expect Hilary and Brooklyn to do"

"No!" Mariah shook her head understanding where Kai's mind was going "That's not what I meant… although I'm not sure if that would be better or worse than what's planned. Kai… Brooklyn's your cousin"

"What?" there was real shock as everyone stared at Mariah, Kai looked completely disbelieving.

"That's not all" Mariah scratched her head as she thought about what to say next "Brooklyn's also Hilary's… he's her half brother"

--

The house in America was very unlike the one in Russia, Hilary preferred it.

She had been entranced with the way they had travelled to this country, the flight had been private and she and Sammy had practically glued their faces to the windows during take off and landing. The plane was large and she had played with Sammy for half of the journey flying good old Buzz Light-year around just like they were. The meals had been delicious and as they were the only ones on the plane there was no one else to worry about so they could be as noisy or silly as they wanted.

Hilary wondered if she had ever flown before but her grandfather had put ear plugs in and fallen asleep soon after the flight began and her aunt and uncle didn't know. She had sat for a while just listening to the sounds and feeling the movement of the plane trying to work through the blankness of her mind but she had soon been interrupted. Sammy had wanted to play and she was more than willing to. As much as she loved the kid though she had to admit the flight had been a bit too much for her.

After the flight they had moved from the private airfield through the dark evening and quiet back roads of America out to the Ranch that her grandfather owned, much like the Russian house it was isolated but there were animals and larger grounds to explore and Hilary looked forward to it.

"HILARY!!" Smiling Hilary turned back to see Sammy running towards her dressed in his pyjamas and slippers.

"Hey kid, shouldn't you be in bed?" she grinned and picked up the boy who was smiling cheekily and holding a hard plastic toy that didn't look like his usual Toy Story toy. "what have you got there?"

"My new toy, Grandfather let me have it!!"

"Lets have a look" Hilary tilted her head to one side as she stared at the purple silver and red action figure in the boy's hand "Well he looks tough"

"He is, he can…" Sammy continued to display all of his new toy's special features as Hilary carried him to his room. Once there Hilary pulled back the bedcovers and listened patiently as she placed the boy into his bed. She removed his slippers absentmindedly nodding to Sammy before pulling the covers over him and tucking him in.

Kissing the boy in the forehead she placed a hand on his toy saying "Ok now put Optimus Prime down and go to sleep."

"Ok" Sammy nodded contentedly as Hilary put the toy down on his chest of drawers "Hil? How'd you know?"

"How did I know what?" Hilary asked smiling

"That he was…" Sammy yawned loudly interrupting his question briefly "That was Optimus Prime?"

"You said so… didn't you?" Hilary asked staring at the little boy as he settled into bed

"Nope!" and with that Sammy rolled over and snuggled down under his covers.

Standing in Sammy's doorway Hilary frowned as she thought about it, Sammy might have said Optimus Prime was the toys name but she hadn't really been listening to him. Even if he had said what they toy was called she wouldn't have been able to remember…

Shaking her head Hilary closed the door behind her, in a way it might make sense that she remembered silly things like that. After all she remembered than an aeroplane was an airplane, she knew what the ocean was, she knew she was human, if all those facts were still in her psyche then surely silly things like the name of Optimus Prime would be in there somewhere.

She moved quickly through the house her face contorted in pain as she tried to make her brain remember. Her head was beginning to ache she was trying so hard to think. Deciding to avoid her family under pretence of being travel weary Hilary walked to her room and walked inside.

Everything had been unpacked for her by her grandfathers servants… now that was another thing that she didn't like, she didn't like having other people do stuff for her. She wondered if in her old life she was more used to doing things for herself.

Her old life.

She spent so long wondering about that, she didn't have many things amongst her luggage that were 'reminders' of her old life. Actually thinking about it Hilary reasoned that asides from her clothes, none of which she felt comfortable in, (did she really like all these long dresses?) she had only one thing from her old life.

Her jewellery box

Holding the jewellery box in in her hands Hilary sat on her bed and smiled. The photo of her receiving this on her birthday reminded her that she had, had a life before this blankness took over, and this box, an heirloom, an object that had belonged to her grandmother it had obviously been special to her before. She had made sure to pick up the box before she left Russia, she felt like it was a part of herself, a connection to her old life.

She turned the silver box over and studied it carefully, for some reason she felt as though there was something she should see here, something she should know.

"Hilary!" there was a knock at her door

"Come in" Looking up she smiled at her grandfather as he entered the room "Is everything ok?" she asked

"Yes but we are about to have something to eat. Do you remember? We said we'd have something at seven?"

Hilary glanced over at the clock, it was just after seven and she jumped up "Sorry Grandfather, you start I'll be down in a second." He nodded and left the room, Hilary ran to change her outfit not really wanting to sit and eat in her travelling clothes.

As she dashed around she dropped the jewellery box carelessly on the bed and didn't notice as it fell off dropping onto the carpeted floor. She left the room not seeing that the underside of the box had come loose and a compartment had opened.

--

"Well whatever Agent Sanders found it's gone now" Jake cursed as he picked up a glass from the table where six places were set for a meal that obviously didn't get finished. "Damn it!"

"We'll find him again Jake" Cheryl moved forward and placed a comforting hand on her husbands arm "It's just going to take time"

"Time?" Jake asked staring at the blonde in disbelief "We wasted enough time letting him continue like we did, we could have stopped him years ago but no! Dear old Mother Hen decided that we needed to get him and all his associates. Because we waited Hilary died, years of planning and acting and I still couldn't save her."

Turning Jake gave a yell and threw the glass he held across the room smiling as it smashed on the opposite wall

"Jake, you couldn't have known what would happen, and your grandfather never wanted Hilary dead, it was a mistake on his part too. That's probably why he's decided to go underground for a while."

"I know" Jake nodded gazing around the large house that looked as though a tornado had run through it. His grandfather and his grandfathers associates had obviously been in a rush when they left this place "I'm just annoyed, the only reason MI5 knew where he was going was because he told me. If we turn up at his next destination my cover's going to be blown."

"Then we'll find a way to work around it" Cheryl comforted "If you want you can always blame the alcoholic girlfriend" she grinned teasingly as she reminded Jake of her cover story, when they had first told the story it was supposed to be a one time operation and 'Cheryl' was supposed to leave and never be seen again. Unfortunately the two agents had made the mistake of falling in love and after a secret marriage ceremony had continued to work together. Jake's conservative family had good memories and they couldn't change the story so Jake had added to his 'black sheep' image that he was still dating an alcoholic.

Jake chuckled lightly before turning and kissing the woman on her head "We'll work something out, if I blame you then they'll look into your background more and then we'll have more problems."

"Good point" Cheryl agreed before glancing around the room they were in "I guess we'd better do the fingertip search on this place"

"Mm-hm" Jake nodded "we'll let them rip it apart. Maybe they'll find something."

--

"Are you sure?" Kai asked quietly as Mariah finished explaining what she had found out "Are you sure that's what they plan to do to Hilary?"

"No, but from what they want from her…" Mariah shook her head "you have no idea how wrong I wish I was."

Kai turned to look at the two men in their chairs, Kendall was still breathing with great difficulty due to the damage Kai had done to his throat and Lando was still lying on his side from when Tyson had punched him there "Is she right?"

Lando stared at them for a moment before nodding an evil smirk plastered onto his face "Yes, isn't it great? Hilary's not only alive but it's very likely she's pregnant with a little cousin for you. And that isn't even the funniest bit"

Kai stalked forward grabbing Lando by his collar and lifted him (chair and all) into the air "What's the funniest bit then?"

"She had no idea what's going on! She won't even remember you" Lando laughed maniacally as he stared into Kai's furious eyes "They wiped her memory, as far as she's concerned you don't exist! She could be told she's in love with your grandfather and for all she knows it's true, doesn't that make you pleased Kai? Imagining your little girlfriend in the throes of passion with…"

The noise that came from Kai was a mixture of anger and revulsion as he threw Lando across the room. As soon as the other man had landed and was lying on the floor his chair scattered in bits around him Kai walked forward grabbing his head and smashing it to the ground

"KAI!!" Both of his old teams ran forward at his violent actions and it actually seemed to take all eight of them pull him off.

"If he's telling the truth" Kai hissed trying to get out from under his imprisoning friends "I'm going to kill him in the worst way possible"

"I'm surprised he's still breathing" Renaldo spoke incredulously as he walked forward to check on the unconscious man "Millie call one of my men, tell them we've got two in need of patching up"

"You're going to treat them?" Tyson asked shocked as he looked at the stern older man

"Look I don't want Kai… or you, going down for murder, besides we may need them again. They may know where Boris is despite what they said"

"He's in Russia" Millie said quietly "or at least Horatio was when I last had him on the radar" Everyone turned stunned to face Millie "Did I not mention that yet?" she asked surprised

"No" Kai whispered looking dangerous

"Well it's a long story, I only really finished looking it up today, he was travelling under a pseudo name and went to a town called Tomsk"

Again there was that silence, that silence that said more than words could as everyone stared at the blonde who had, in the last hour, given them more hope and happiness than some of them thought they would ever happen again. Finally with a short muttering of "I'm getting us to Russia" Kai quickly stalked out of the room.

* * *

Please R&R


	12. Left Behind

The jewellery box puzzle will be answered in this chapter, some of you may remember it from 'things are changing'.

I also admit that Lando was wrong and it would be an aunt or Uncle for Kai but I wrote it wrong and then kind of liked that Lando made that mistake, it seemed a little less rehearsed and made him seem a little more… maniacal. If that makes any sense. I may rewrite that chapter later but i'm snowed under with work and if I don't finish my next two assigments on time I pretty much fail and have to repeat the year!

I do not own beyblade

* * *

"I still don't get why I can't go!" Mariah complained for the sixth time as she and Ray arrived at the dojo and climbed out of the taxi. They had returned to the hotel in order to get some things together for Ray before he left with the others

"You're pregnant Mariah" Ray turned back and paid off the driver before picking up his bag and entering the garden

"Technically so are you" Mariah argued back in an annoyed tone "If something happens to you it will affect the baby too"

"Yes but I'm not carrying the child am I?" Ray reasoned with a smile "Mariah I don't want you running around Russia with us when you're pregnant"

"Well I'm not staying here!"

"No she's not" a calm voice agreed, and the young couple were surprised to find Tyson and Tala standing waiting for them

"So I can come too?" Mariah asked sounding thrilled

"No" Tala shook his head smirking "Come inside we'll explain."

Mariah and Ray followed the others inside to find that everyone else was already waiting for them. The Blitzkrieg Boys sat talking quietly with Renaldo while Max and Kenny were speaking with Tia and Millie.

"Mariah!!" Tia stood and made her way to the punchier girls side "Have you heard what they plan to do to us?"

"Tia you're making it sound like we have some diabolical plan" Renaldo complained

"Well it feels like it, why can't we go with you guys? Why are you making us stay here?" Tia asked angrily

"They're not letting you go either?" Mariah frowned at the group "Why not?"

"Apparently my leg isn't healed enough." Tia pouted and looked down at the walking stick she still had to use "I've never been more annoyed with this injury"

"Tia!" Millie spoke placating "You know that we couldn't take you, and Mariah you can't really want to put your baby in danger like that, can you? Besides we have a job for you two here."

"What?"

"We need you to get this place ready for Hilary's return" Renaldo said

"What?" Mariah asked tilting her head to one side as Millie looked over at Renaldo

"Well Lando is still unconscious but, despite his crushed windpipe we managed to talk to Kendall for a bit, it would appear that what Lando said is true, Hilary has no memory of us." everyone with the exception of Kai began to speak at once asking questions but Renaldo merely held up his hands silencing them before continuing "we don't know how he's done this but I think we can guess as to why. We all know Hilary, and what she's like, my guess is that they removed her memories to keep her in check. Especially considering the other part of their plan. I can't imagine Hilary going along with any of what they planned if she was in her right mind."

"So what do you want us to do?" Tia looked confused "I may have passed my science GCSE at the age of twelve but I'm not exactly knowledgeable when it comes to memory removal and reinstallation"

"What's a GCSE?" Tyson asked interrupting the flow of conversation and earning himself some glares "sorry, not important!"

"Tia I'm not expecting you two to be able to return her memories medically, but you both have been her best friends for most of her life, if she doesn't remember who she is we're going to need proof as to who we are, and help her remember who she is. You two know her better than most so you can do that."

"I still don't get why I can't stay" Millie muttered grumpily "I'm not good at all this."

"You've done pretty well so far, if it wasn't for you we wouldn't know half the stuff we need to." Max told her sitting beside her and wrapping an arm around her. "And I'll be with you, I won't let anything happen to you."

"Promise?" Millie asked looking at him with a coy smile

"I promise" Max responded with a smile before tenderly kissing her on the cheek.

A door slammed shut breaking everyone's attention away from the adorkable couple, confused they all looked around and it was soon obvious who was missing from the room.

"Oh damn it" Max hissed as Millie pulled away from him looking distressed. Everyone had been very conscious of Kai and his loss and certain public displays of affection had become almost non existent between the couples in the group.

"It's not your fault" Tala told them "he's been an emotional void for years. He'd only just gotten how to handle being happy and his grandfather snatches that away, with losing Hils he's had to deal with awful grief like he never felt before and then it turns out it was all for nothing. He's taken the term emotional roller coaster to a whole new level."

"Wow Tala, what you do read psychology for dummies or something?" Tia asked smiling as she kidded with the redhead.

"Nah, I've just been listening to my shrink recently instead of ignoring him like usual" Tala smiled and turned to look out the window. "I'll go after him in a bit, I know where he'll end up."

--

Walking out of the garden and away from the dojo Kai frowned feeling angry with himself. Just recently he'd been avoiding his friends so much that he'd almost forgotten that any of them were dating. Watching them being so happy and together made his heart ache and he couldn't stand the feeling. Looking down the street left and right Kai decided to head left and began to run.

He ran blindly not really looking as he crossed roads, ignoring the honking of horns that followed him occasionally and not caring as he tripped and fell over things in his path. It began to rain as he made his way through the town but he didn't notice that his clothes became sodden making running even more difficult and his hair adhered itself to his face. He didn't notice when the raoin stopped and darkness began to make seeing more difficult.

He didn't notice anything until he stopped running and looked around.

How did he get here?

He wondered about his route as he walked forward slowly, soon he was at the edge of the ciliff looking down. This was where he had saved Hilary years ago, he wasn't actually sure where Hilary had fallen from when she had followed Lando off the cliff but as he looked from left to right it soon became obvious. To his right about fifty metres away was a small spot of colour. Making his way towards it he smiled at the collection of flowers and other paraphernalia that had been placed on the place where Hilary had met her 'death'.

He immediately felt bad, he had never brought flowers for Hilary. Even when she was alive he hadn't thought to do that, there were a lot of roses here, maybe they were her favourite. It suddenly struck him how little he had known about that kind of thing. He had no idea what her favourite flower was, her favourite colour, he hadn't even been aware of her middle name until it was spoken at her funeral. Of course that stuff wasn't important.

He knew her best, he knew that she sometimes sang as she read books, he knew that she loved to stand in the rain until she was soaked through, he knew that she had faith in her friends no matter what, he knew that she was suspicious of people but at the same time oddly trusting, that when she was sleeping she sometimes laughed.

Was she still like that?

Was she still his Hilary?

"Kai?"

Turning Kai found himself face to face with his 'best friend' Tala, the redhead smirked at him and walked up beside him.

"She was well liked" Tala told him "We aren't the only ones that miss her."

"What do you want Tala?"

"To talk."

"I've never been much of a one for talking" he shrugged

"Me neither, well not anything helpful!" Tala chuckled lightly

"I'm not in the mood for jokes" Kai told him trying to remain expressionless but his despair was beginning to show on his face, it had been bad enough when Hilary was dead but now he knew she was alive somewhere and without his protection it was eating him up inside. What his grandfather planned to do to her didn't even bear thinking about, if he thought about it he knew he'd go crazy.

"There's nothing you could have done" Tala broke the silence and moved to the edge sitting down to look at the water "What's happened has happened, all we can do now is stop this chain of events and get Hilary back"

"But that's just it" Kai hissed "it won't be her, it won't be my Hilary. She won't even remember me."

"We'll help her remember"

"He said that no one the serum had ever been used on before had ever got their memories back."

"Well, we'll manage something, surely the first thing is to get her to safety?"

"I know..., I just thought…, I just thought that we were stronger than that." Tala smiled, there it was, one of the main reasons that had made sure that Kai wasn't celebrating with the rest of them. "She and I were different, after all we've been through together how can she just forget?"

"She didn't chose to, she can't fight everything"

"Well then why didn't I work out that she was still alive? Why didn't I figure out what was going on? If I was even half the man that she deserves I would have known what to do!"

"You saw her body, it was an exact copy, You have to stop beating yourself up over this. Ok so things haven't gone as they should, Ok so everything is messed up but that doesn't mean you can't fix it. Got it?"

There was silence from his fellow blader but that was enough for Tala to know that the message had gotten through. They sat and stood together looking our over the water until finally Kai muttered "we ought to get going."

"Yeah!" Tala nodded "By the way I was wondering something"

"What?"

"What'll you do if we get there too late? What if Hilary really is pregnant with…" Tala found himself unable to say the name "What if…?"

"What if she's pregnant with my bastard of a grandfathers child?" Kai finished angrily, recieving a nod from Tala he sighed "I don't know, but one things for sure, I'll do whatever she wants, whatever it takes to get her back I'll do it and if I need to, I'll even pretend that the child is mine. Hell it'll have some of my DNA in there it may even look like me."

"You'd be able to do that?" Tala asked amazed at Kai's passionate statement

"It's for her." Kai shrugged obviously deeming his reply perfectly acceptable, and actually it was. Tala understood what he meant but part of him doubted how Kai would cope with the idea of Hilary not only having his grandfathers child but him helping to raise it. Well they'd have to cross that bridge when they came to it.

--

After finishing her evening meal Hilary had spent a long time with her grandfather and his business partner Voltaire. Her aiunt and uncle had left wanting to check on ther son and get some sleep themselves, they were 'jetlagged' a term she had understood but had listened to the explanation anyway. She wasn't at all tired maybe she had travelled a lot herself and her body was used to it?

When she had her grandfather alone she's ask him about it.

Hilary still wasn't sure if she liked Voltaire… there was something creepy about him. As it got late and the two men began to discuss business and economics she excused herself claiming to be very tired, maybe even 'jetlagged' and made her escape.

Once inside her own room where some unknown person had unpacked and put away all her things she breathed a sigh of relief. Contmeplating hos good it was to be alone sometimes Hilary dug through her drawers for her nightgown, she had just found the elusive piece of clothing when she saw something on the floor.

"Oh no!"

The large antique jewellery box she had just been re-entrusted with so recently was on the floor and it looked broken. She picked it up gingerly and examined it…that was odd the bottom didn't look broken… it looked as though this was supposed to come away. Pulling off the false bottom as carefully as possible she could see a hardback book slotted into the space there. She slipped the book out, it was a red book with gold writing 'Little Women by Louisa May Alcott'.

She opened the book at the middle and scanned the words, the chapters didn't consist of anything that she recognised, she continued to flip through the book and was about to give up when a little message on one of the front pages caught her eye.

_To Hilary_

_You once said that this was your favourite._

_Come back soon, we really need you around_

_Kai_

She frowned, who the hell was Kai?

Not only that but is suddenly occurred to her… this message, and the book… it wasn't written in Russian, nor were the symbols embossed on the cover English, it was… 'Nihongo' she whispered, Japanese… how did she understand it?

Changing into her nightgown Hilary climbed into bed before opening up the book and starting to read.

'_Christmas won't be Christmas without presents.'_

--

"Your grand daughter seems at ease here" Voltaire sipped at his drink as he looked over at Horation. They were reclining in large leather chairs (in typical bad guy pose) frowning at how easily they had almost been caught.

"I still don't understand how they managed to find us, no one knew of our location did they?"

"I told no one and Boris didn't even let Lando and Kendall know where we were. Did anyone know?"

"I contacted a few members of family when I first arrived in Russia, I didn't tell them exactly where I was going but they would have been able to trace us eventually."

"Why did you contact them again?" Voltaire asked, they had already discussed this at length when Horatio had arrived but he had forgotten the reasons his friend had given

"Because it would be a little suspicious if I disappeared without a word and it wouldn't be long before one of my sons tried to start taking over the business."

"Well from what we found on that agent it was MI5, now who in your family would be in touch with them?"

"A long time ago I would have said none of them..."

"But now?"

"Now I'm not so sure, I lost my family's trust when they all found out what my plans were. I thought I had regained it after you went to prison but I cannot be sure..., you see Martin tells his brothers everything."

"But they seemed to trust you again" Voltaire asked and Horatio nodded "I suppose none of them are trustworthy."

"Well… one of them might be." Horatio whispered ponderingly "But I'll worry about that later, for now we need to talk about the next part of the process."

"How suspicious would Hilary be if we brought her doctor over?"

"It's hard to tell, I would suggest bringing the doctor over but keeping him out of sight. How easy would it be to employ someone new?"

"Artificial Insemination is pretty standard stuff, finding someone to actually do the dead won't be hard but keeping them quiet might be. Whoever we get will be able to tell that something fishy is going on, Hilary was pretty famous, her death was reported globally."

"Well we need to start soon; you and I both know that assisted reproductive technology is only effective 60-70% of the time and the sooner we get started the sooner we'll be able to produce the neccesary child. I never really imagined becoming a father again at this age"

"Charlie Chaplain had kids at 70"

"Yes because I've always aimed to emulate him" Voltaire muttered sarcastically.

* * *

Alright clearing up any remaining mystery here, the important thing is the Hiwatari/Tatibana bloodline if Kai had been an easy to manage kid then the plan would have been to match Kai and Hilary together. With him gone the plan is that it will be Voltaires kid (It will be IVF folks), Kinda sick but true!

I have just noticed the similarity between this story and one of my previous ones, Ray is about abandon the pregnant Mariah. I mean obviously there are some differences, this time he knows she's pregnant… yeah ok maybe at least one difference!!

Please R&R


	13. Authors Note, please read!

I bet that chapter title freaked you all out!

Don't worry, despite my freakishly long absence from this site I am not putting anything on Hiatus, I've noticed that when people do that sometimes they don't ever come back!

I am so so so so sorry for leaving you all so long but there were numerous reasons for it, thank you everyone that reviewed and I hope (emphasis on the hope) that I won't leave you for so long ever again!

That being said please enjoy this chapter

Love you all!!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

There was a certain amount of routine to the days of the people living on the Tatibana ranch. They would get up, they would meet for breakfast and eat in tolerablely easy conversation and then all go their separate ways. Hilary would spend her days with her young cousin playing indoors and out while her grandfather and his friend would talk 'business'. The afternoons would be filled with learning time for Hilary, her uncle and aunt would spend time imparting their wisdom on almost all subjects… except science… Hilary always noticed that no mention of science ever came into their lessons.

She never asked them about why science would be glossed over but it did bother her sometimes. She felt as though there was a huge gap in her learning thanks to this oversight. She needed to learn everything that there was to offer in her mind, but her lessons seemed aimed at her character rather than her mind. She learnt English, history, languages and music but nothing very substantial, part of her felt like she was living in the book she had found hidden in her jewellery box. As though her life and studies were all aimed towards her living an easy life of wealth and indolence.

Still she hated it all, she felt a real need to do things, she revelled in her time with Sammy when she could feel as though she were really doing something active and helpful, she liked being active, of course these stupid dresses her grandfather made her wear weren't really conducive to active living.

"Hilary?"

Turning Hilary smiled at her aunt "Hey Samantha"

"You look annoyed, what's gotten you so upset?"

"Dresses"

"Ah!" Samantha nodded understandingly as she looked down at the long blue sundress her niece wore. It suited her but she knew from experience that long dresses and skirts were not very easy to cope with.

"Did I always wear these...? You know before the fire?"

"Not really no," Samantha thought carefully about her next statement, after carefully wording the sentence in her head and making sure that it could in no way contradict anything Hilary had been told before she smiled "You preferred trousers, short skirts, and shorts. Your grandfather prefers you to look 'like a young lady' and so when most of your stuff was burnt or fire damaged he took some liberties with shopping for your clothing."

"I see..." Looking up at the sky Hilary was reminded of that name she had found, why did the grey sky make her heart ache so much? "Samantha did I ever know anyone called Kai?"

"K-Kai?" Samantha felt her heart stop at that question. Had the serum worn off?

"Yeah... why are you looking at me like that?"

"You remember Kai?"

"Not really should I?"

"It's hard… I'm not sure how to tell you this"

Hilary stared at Samantha, fear suddenly gripped her heart "he's not dead is he?"

"What? No! It's not that…" Samantha shook her head. "Hilary, how do you know about Kai?"

Hilary was surprised by how terrified she had been at the suggestion that this unknown Kai was dead and the relief that followed made her clutch her heart sighing. "I found a book, it had a message from him in it. When I read it... I don't know, by the end of the book I felt like maybe I was closer to remembering stuff. Now when I look up at the sky I think about him, who he is, what he's like, if he meant a lot to me, I get these thoughts, I guess I'm just thinking of him as my ideal guy so I'm in for a disappointment if I ever meet him."

After thinking about it long and hard Samantha decided that there was only one way to handle this. "Hilary" Samantha faced the girl and gripped her shoulders forcing her to look into her eyes. "Listen to me. You're grandfather... didn't want you to be with Kai. I don't think you should mention this to him, asides from anything else… you don't want to get his hopes up about returning memories if it's not really happening. However if thinking about Kai is helping you then keep thinking about him. Tell me what you think about?"

"Well" Hilary paused concentrating "Like I said it's probably just me imagining my ideal man..."

"Tell me" Samantha urged

"Well... When I think of him I just feel... loved. I feel protected, like he's strong and there's a scent. It's like…, hot metal and... it's like how it smells after a rainstorm you know?" Hilary blushed as she tried to explain what she 'remembered' "I guess that sounds stupid."

"Sounds nice" Samantha smirked, of course she couldn't verify anything that Hilary was saying but the feeling that Hilary did know what she was talking about and seemed to be actually remembering stayed with her. Perhaps this situation wasn't hopeless at all.

--

Travelling to Russia in the Hiwatari private jet was something of a real experience for Millie. All her travelling had been confined to commercial flights so to board and travel on a jet that had been likened to AirForceOne made her quite giddy and for a moment all her worries and fears disappeared. She sat in the luxurious seats next to Max who couldn't stop watching her loving the enjoyment on her face. Of the Blitzkrieg boys only Kai and Tala were actually going to Russia, Spencer Ian and Bryan were remaining in Japan making sure that the BBA were satisfied that their new world champions were not shirking their duty and keeping an eye on Mariah and Tia. Daichi was remaining behind as well and part of his plans were to help the remaining Blitzkrieg Boys keep their cover, the rest of the time he would be holding onto Ray's job so that when Ray returned he could immediately get back to work. Renaldo, Tyson, Kenny and Max had all elected to come without a second thought and even Ray after his initial fears about Mariah were quelled had been happy to come. It was in all their minds now that Hilary needed them and despite any lapse in memory on her part she was just waiting for rescue.

Turning to look out the window Millie watched as Tyson stood with Ray as he said his rather long and drawn out goodbye to his fiancé. It was sweet to see the two of them just embracing each other especially knowing how much the two had been through already and how much they were all about to go through. Sighing at the thought of the danger they were about to place themselves in Millie leaned away from the window and rested her head on Max's shoulder.

It was an unusually subdued Tia that walked up to Ray, Mariah and Tyson as they said their goodbyes on the tarmac. She and Tyson exchanged a sly smile as he rolled his eyes at Ray and Mariah. Tia headed to stand next to Tyson limping a little more than usual and prompting Tyson to ask

"Is your leg troubling you?"

"Not much, I tripped last night and my muscles wrenched a little. They been like this long?" she indicated the couple still holding onto each other.

"Half an hour, I think they're waiting until the last moment to let go, as soon as Kai and Tala arrive we're off."

"Yeah… look Millie, she's smart she's tough but…, she's also…, she's not made fighting, she hates to hurt people. She's one of those people who'll argue for what she believes in but will apologise afterwards for speaking too much… she's only a kid…"

"I'll keep an eye on her" Tyson said with a smile guessing at what Tia was trying to say, he gave her an understanding nod "I promise whatever happens I'll get her home safe and sound."

"Thank you" out of the corner of her eye Tia could see Tala and Kai approaching smiling she placed a hand on Tyson's shoulder "And you be careful too" kissing him gently on the lips Tia then turned away from the surprised and blushing blader and began to limp towards Kai and Tala. Standing in front of the two Russians Tia gave them a serious look "Make sure you bring her back"

Kai nodded, nothing more was said between the two and Kai immediately walked forward to board the plane. Tala paused a moment longer smiling at the tall blonde girl in front of him

"Don't I get a good luck kiss?" he teased

Blushing lightly Tia glared at him "No, but if you lose anyone on this trip, and if you don't bring Hilary back I'll be sure to give you the kiss of death"

"How 'The Godfather' of you. Will I sleep with the fishes as well?"

"I think even the Fish are too picky to think of sleeping with you." Tia punched him on the arm "Good luck!"

Smirking Tala walked away from Tia and towards the plane, as he got closer to Ray and Mariah the two began to pull apart, both wore matching false expressions as they smiled encouragingly at each other.

"We'll be back before you know it." Ray said with a nod, leaning down he placed a quick kiss on her stomach "Look after yourselves."

"You too" Mariah whispered placing one last lingering kiss on Ray's lips before turning and walking over to join Tia. Tears were already spilling from her eyes and down her face and she was eternally grateful to the blonde girl who wrapped her into a hug and helped her walk away from the plane.

"She'll be OK Ray." Kenny comforted Ray as the boy literally fell into his seat, his expression of deep misery was not lost on anyone.

"I know, mostly I'm just worried about her stress levels… it's not good for a pregnant woman to have so much worry in her life." Sighing Ray looked out onto the tarmac where Tia and Mariah stood looking very far away.

"You could stay" Tyson suggested quietly but at this Ray laughed shaking his head

"If I stayed Mariah would be even more worried, she'd be wishing I was with you so that I can bring her best friend back." As he spoke the plane lights flickered briefly and there was a long shudder that rippled through the plane as the engines started up. Within seconds of the seatbelt light going on the plane started rumbling forward.

--

"Good evening Dr K" Voltaire smiled at the lady sitting in front of him, she was slim with long raven black hair and eyes that held an ill hidden darkness as though she was viewing the entire world with derision. She sat legs crossed and arms folded confident in her abilities and probability of getting the job.

"Good evening Mr Hiwatari"

"Artificial Insemination is not actually your speciality but I see you have an extraordinary interest in beyblading much like my partner and myself."

"I have long been a fan of your work and that of Mr Tatibana."

"And you have in fact met the girl in question before?"

"We were not in a great deal of contact our meetings were minimal but yes… our paths have crossed."

"You do know that if we find you are in any way working against us we will have you killed."

"My only interest in this is to help you breed the perfect beyblader,once upon a time I worked in cybertronics but as I'm sure you know I soon discovered that it was just as difficult to work cybernetics as it is in DNA."

"Yes…" Voltaire nodded chuckling lightly "we discovered that as well. Now the work you would do here would often be very ordinary, she thinks she needs regular check up's, she has no knowledge what we're really testing her for but I'm sure you can mange that. We do need the guarantee that anything you see or hear inside this house will be kept completely secret, in return you will be handsomely rewarded"

"I understand perfectly but the other people in this house must cause problems, I have seen servants around surely that's difficult?"

"Not at all they have been told that we have living with us a mentally sick girl who needs protecting, we do not allow her into the outside world and we want her to remain unaffected by the outside world. They make sure that they do not come into contact with her of their own accord."

"How are you planning on explaining to the girl about her mysterious pregnancy?"

"She has been taught nothing of science, we have seen to that, she has no knowledge of how a pregnancy happens or even how long it would last, when she is at least three months pregnant it"

"I see" another nod "well I will sign anything you want in agreement to my silence but I do want to work in partnership with you. I must protect any stake I have in this enterprise."

--

They had only been in Russia for a few days but Millie was sure they were being followed, she was almost constantly aware of someone watching her. At first she thought she was just being paranoid and when she mentioned her suspicions to the others they would just shrug it off. When they arrived in Tomsk they had discovered a residence in the area owned by an I H Watari. Max's scrabbilscious brain immediately made the connection that the two men might still be using anagrams of their names and the immediately searched for the house.

Unfortunately the place was empty… it had been a real anticlimax when they arrived to find the house looking like no one had lived in it for years. There were no other places where nearby where Voltaire and Horatio could keep Hilary and set up for experiments and feeling distressed they had considered going back to the beginning. It wasn't until Tala chatting with one of the locals in the hotel bar came upon a lead.

Up until a week or so ago, one of the local farmers had made regular delivery's to the house taking up enough food to feed a small army. One day the farmer went to make his usual delivery and found that they had cleared out leaving no notice of why or where they were going. It all led to one explanation, Horatio and Voltaire had been there but they had been in danger of discovery and had to make a sudden move.

"We'll head back out there tomorrow and search the place properly" Tala had decided "they may have left something behind."

"Well surely if they thought someone was after them they would have cleared it out carefully." Kenny typed away at his computer "It would be more helpful to find how they travelled and then we can see if we Can work out their route, if they flew they would have had to submit a flight plan, if they drove we could work out the most likely route by asking the locals and checking highway security if they went by train we'd just need to trace their tickets."

"Ok" Tala had acknowledged this sensible advice but he wasn't so ready to give up on his plan "you can get onto that while the rest of us search the house, we may be able to find out who freaked them into leaving and that might be helpful too!"

Millie had wanted to remain with Kenny but as they were wanting to search the large house quickly and all needed to go along. They seemed surprisingly unconcerned by her fears but whenever she got one of her feelings and they dismissed it she would remind herself that they were a lot more used to this kind of situation and she should trust their judgement.

Unfortunately as soon as they travelled back to the empty house Millie started to feel nervous, she had that feeling again, someone was watching them, she was sure of it. She kept her eyes on the roads behind them but there was never a constant car that stood out and there were even times when they were the only ones on the road.

Shaking her head Millie leant against Max trying to focus on the task they were about to begin and forget her worries.

--

Voltaire walked down the long winding corridors of the old American house, the floor creaked underfoot and for a split second he paused. There was no sound from anywhere else to make him think that he had been heard so he continued on his way. Soon he came to corridor he was aiming for, he crossed silently to each door looking in for a moment and not finding what he was looking for closing the door and making his way over to another. Finally he found the room he wanted and crept in.

The room was dark, but the curtains were open and there was enough moonlight for him to make out the layout of the room. He slowly moved over to the bed where he could make out the sleeping figure of his friend granddaughter.

Hilary was sleeping quietly her hands clasped together and lying on the pillow beside her head. Voltaire looked down at the girl and smiled, this girl, this seventeen year old (eighteen in just under a month) girl could be the answer to a lifetimes work and conjecture. He had an odd respect for the girl that had managed to beat himself and Horatio and garnered the respect of the difficult Blitzkrieg Boys. Not to mention her way with Kai, after he had finished with his grandson he had been pretty sure that Kai would never allow any woman into his life and he had been positive that he would never trust anyone.

The girls at the Abbey had been as back stabbing as they were beautiful and if an insult towards the bosses that ran the place was heard they would immediately report it. Of course Hilary had somehow changed that, her want to people and ability to draw people in had caused Kai to fall in love with her.

Reaching out he brushed some of Hilary's hair off her face, it was silky to the touch and her skin was soft. He smiled before edging away and making his way back to the door.

--

Hilary shifted in her sleep, something had disturbed her, sniffing slightly she awoke in time to see someone leaving her room. For a brief moment she froze, then jumping off the bed she rushed to the door and opening it quietly she looked out.

Making his way down the corridor was the man she had started to distrust a long time ago, her grandfather's business partner. Why had he been creeping around her room?

Backing into the relative safety her room Hilary closed the door and leant against it, what was going on here? There was something wrong something that shouldn't be happening, if only she could work out what it was.

- -

Not wanting to spend too much time in the dark Millie had taken two of the main rooms in the house, they were side by side and had large bay windows that let in a great deal of light. She wasn't afraid of the dark but she had been jumping at shadows more than usual recently and the last thing she wanted was to overreact because of a mouse and have all the boys laugh at her. She was becoming painfully aware of her status as 'only girl in the group' and she wondered how Hilary had managed on the adventures when it had been just her and the blade breakers for so long. Of course Hilary was able to hold her own against people, she commanded a certain amount of respect and if she didn't get it from someone like Tyson she'd probably hit him.

Millie walked all around the rooms inspecting the carpets, and walls as well as searching the cabinets and cupboards. As far as she could see there was nothing to find but she still kept looking. She was just considering the carpet when something shining in the sunlight caught her eye. Crawling across the floor Mille was surprised to find a tiny plastic gun, it looked like it had come from a child's toy, resting back on her heels Millie inspected the piece. It wasn't exactly important but obviously there had been a child here…

A floorboard creaked.

Jumping up from her crouched position on the floor Millie looked around nervously, there was no one in the room but… she had that feeling again. She was sure there was someone else here. She shook it off, after all Ray, Renaldo, Tyson, Tala, Kai and Max were all in the building somewhere, of course there was someone else here.

Walking over to the door she listened carefully but could not hear anything on the other side. After a moment of indecision she opened the door and stepped out into the main hallway…

"Max? Are you done yet?"

There was no reply

"Max?" Millie called a little louder… still nothing, Tala had been searching the rooms across the hall "Tala?"

This time when she didn't hear anything Millie started to get worried, walking across the hall she wrenched open on of the doors and looked in, "If this is a joke guys I'm not laughing!" Millie was about to yell again when suddenly from just outside the window

"RUN! Millie you got…"

The voice was suddenly stifled and there were grunts of pain from the source Millie knew that it was Tala's voice and her instinct was to go see what was wrong but as she stepped into the room a person dressed in black climbed in through the window. Turning Millie began to run, she headed for the front door only to find someone already waiting for her, she turned for the stairs but there were two men standing there as well.

Looking around Millie saw a door to the left of the stairs and ran for it, throwing the door open she ran into the room and closed it behind where, looking around she saw that she was in the kitchens. Behind her the door banged, someone was trying to force it open. All that was stopping them was Millie and she knew she couldn't hold out against them. After about twenty seconds she felt them attempt the door again, jumping forward she ran across the kitchen making her way towards the window and attempted to open it, the frame wouldn't budge. Turning Millie was just in time to see her pursuers shove at the door again, this time without her there to hold it they succeeded, the two men fell to the ground with the force of opening the door.

Grabbing one of the kitchen stools Millie threw it at the window smashing an opening for her escape. Grabbing another chair she threw it at the two men who were getting up off the ground successfully knocking one out but the other was only dazed and managed to stand. Millie jumped up and not even noticing the glass that tore at her arm scrambled through the window, she had just placed her feet safely onto the ground when the man from the kitchen reached through the glass and grabbed her arm. Millie screamed and tried to pull away but before she could put up a good fight another set of arms wrapped themselves around her and something strange smelling was clamped over her mouth. Before she knew it Millie was breathing in the sickly sweet fumes and her vision had gone blurry.

* * *

Enough action for ya'll??

Things are getting a bit more active and Voltaire's getting creepier!!

I'll try not to stay away so long next time!

R&R


	14. Who's interviewing who?

I know I haven't been responding to peoples reviews but to make up for it this is a long one. Enjoy!

I do not own beyblade

* * *

Kai,

Kai,

Kai,

Kai,

Who was he?

Sighing Hilary flopped back on her bed, she was tired and annoyed. Trying to remember someone when you don't even have a picture to go on was hard work. Picking up the book that she had found she opened it up at the message and re-read it. What could she work out from the words? Rolling onto her front Hilary reached for a pen and a notebook,

_To Hilary_

Well that was simple enough, it was someone who didn't need to use her surname, someone she was close to. Of course she already knew that from Samantha but she wrote it down all the same.

_You once said that this was your favourite._

Well that suggested long conversations about favourite books but also suggested that the person wasn't 100% sure if the book they had brought was the right gift. That suggested a fairly familiar relationship that was bordering onto new ground.

_Come back soon, we really need you around_

That was simple enough but could also have a double meaning. Obviously she had been away or unable to attend something and the message meant she needed to control things but the second message could be that the one writing the message was missing her and couldn't bring himself to say it. Maybe this Kai wasn't good at talking about how he felt and by saying it as though imploring her to come back on behalf of others he could tell her he missed her.

_Kai_

The name had been signed with slightly more of a flourish as though he signed things with just his first name regularly but that was pure conjecture on her part, he could be one of those people that signed everything with a flourish.

By the end of her observations Hilary had a very short list

-

Someone she was close to.

Fairly familiar with her, but maybe awkward?

Not good at expressing his own feelings?

-

It wasn't exactly hopeful she noticed as she started to doodle on the paper, she wasn't getting any further forward and she was desperate to remember everything soon. She was still freaked out by what had happened the other night and while part of her wanted to ask her grandfather about it she had a feeling that he would brush it off like he did all her worries.

Voltaire freaked her out, that was the only way to put it, the guy was the same age as her grandfather but he said things, he looked at her in a way that made her nervous… and why the hell had he been in her room?

"Hilary?" there was a knock accompanying the deep voice at the door

"What is it Grandfather?"

"We have a guest that I'd like you to meet, she'll be joining us for lunch but I'd like you to meet her before hand. Can you come down now?"

"Sure" Hilary looked down at herself, she was fully dressed but she wanted to hide her book properly before she went down. With creepy old men hanging about her room she didn't want to risk it being discovered. She also decided that short as her list was she ought to hide it with the book. "Just let me get dressed and I'll be down, I'll be a few minutes!"

"Very well" There were light footsteps outside her door and soon Hilary was alone again.

Looking around Hilary tried to decide where a good place to hide the book would be, the drawers and cupboards were all likely to be cleaned at some point and she didn't want to risk it being found. The same could be said of the space under her pillow that she was currently using. Under her mattress had the same problem and as she tried the floorboards looking for a loose one to hide things under she realised that she was running out of time. Groaning exasperatedly Hilary picked up her book.

Then it hit her like a tonne of bricks

Why not hide it in the jewellery box?

It had stayed hidden there for long enough.

Laughing at her stupidity Hilary picked up her notebook and was about to tear the page out when the picture she had drawn caught her eye…

What the hell was that?

Tilting her head to the side Hilary looked at the odd shaped object, it looked like one of the spinning tops that had been in Sammy's play box but…, it was much too ornate for that, in the centre of the top was a picture, it looked like a bird… and not just any bird, it was a… damn it!

She couldn't remember, it was a special bird she knew that. She'd look it up later, for now she needed to get downstairs before lunch was served tearing the page out of the book Hilary shoved it inside Little Women and then hiding them safely in the box ran out to join her grandfather.

--

"WHERE IS SHE?!?"

There was banging, lots of banging.

And shouting, lots of shouting from a single voice.

He had a pounding headache and the yelling wasn't helping.

"LET ME SEE HER!!"

It was too loud! Rolling uncomfortably Kenny tried to sit up.

"Don't strain yourself Chief!"

That was Tyson… what was he doing here?

Wait! What was Kenny doing here?

Where exactly was here?

"IF YOU'VE HURT HER!"

"Make him be quiet" Kenny begged

"Max the Chiefs not feeling too good, just shut up for now!"

That had been Max shouting? Kenny was surprised, he wasn't usually so noisy.

"I need to know she's ok" Max spoke desperately but Kai placed a calming hand on Max's shoulder

"Let's just get the Chief filled in" he muttered, Max looked like he was about to argue but seeing as how the past ten minutes of yelling hadn't been doing any good and his throat was raw from yelling Max nodded and took a seat beside Tala on the floor.

With the help of Ray and Tyson Kenny was soon in an upright sitting position, his vision was still blurry but slowly he was able to make out his friends and the grey room they were in. It was when Kenny fully had his vision that he wanted to panic, the halogen lights in the ceiling gave off a greenish glow and the pale walls were completely bare. In the corner there was a small toilet and sink but apart form that all the room boasted was a metal door that had no handle.

"Whe--?" Kenny coughed his throat was dry, he couldn't finish the question.

"We aren't sure where we are exactly" Tyson told him producing a water bottle and after unscrewing the top he helped him drink from it. "None of us are really sure how long we've been out for. We're making a guess that we were out for about five hours, Kai was the first to wake up and that was a couple of hours ago. We aren't really sure about you of course… what do you remember?"

Kenny sighed and tried to think back to what had happened last time he was awake "I was at the hotel just doing some research on the area. I ordered some room service, there was knock at the door, I assumed it was them, opened the door and then next thing I know something's shoved into my face and I'm being pushed into the room again."

"Same as us then really" Tyson muttered "We were searching the house, I'm guessing they were picking us off one by one because from what Tala says Millie heard him being attacked, he thinks she came to see if he was ok, he managed to get her to run just before he was knocked out but we don't think she got away. There were at least three with me when I got grabbed and Kai had four grabbing him so we know there were at least four people maybe more."

"I doubt there were a lot of them" Ray said thoughtfully "If they had unlimited numbers they could have just descended on us all at one."

"I agree with Ray" Renaldo nodded in agreement "I think there was five or six of them and they used chloroform to subdue us because it can be a quiet way of properly sedating someone. Cloth over the mouth and nose no one can yell through that and if they just hit us who knew when we'd wake up, chloroform gives a pretty definite timescale."

"Where's Millie?" Kenny asked suddenly noticing the girls absence, immediately Kenny felt stupid, he had heard Max yelling and now it was pretty obvious what he had been yelling about "Sorry, dumb question… is there any way out?"

"That's an even dumber question" Tala told Kenny good naturedly "If there were a way out you'd have woken up in a different place. But I guess we don't want to mess around until we know what the deal is with Millie, we can't risk her getting hurt."

Beside Tala Max visibly sagged, ever since he had woken up and realised that Millie wasn't with them he had been going crazy. He couldn't stop himself from thinking of all the terrible things that could be happening to her and it wasn't exactly pretty. Max was just beginning to lose his patience again when a key ground in the lock and the door opened.

Immediately Max was on his feet "Where's Millie?" he made to rush at the man but Tala grabbed onto his arm holding him back while Kai grabbed his shoulder protectively.

"How rude" the man who stood in front of them smiled mockingly "I was hoping we could commence with some polite introductions maybe discuss literature and film…"

"Tell me where my girlfriend is or I'll kill you" Max tried to break away from the two Russians holding him in place but they weren't letting go.

"Ah… I understand the anger and all the yelling that was going on. Your girlfriend is fine, she is being questioned by one of my best agents and…"

"Agent Oxley" a woman with short jet black hair appeared in the doorway.

"What is it?" the man looked annoyed at being interrupted.

"There's a problem with the girl"

"What kind of problem?" It was a snarling Max that asked the question, he looked fiercer than any of his friends had ever seen him before and from the looks of it Kai and Tala were having trouble keeping him in check.

They didn't answer Max, instead the two jailers just left the room firmly shutting the door behind them and locking it.

--

Like Max, Millie had spent most of her time yelling at her captors. She had spent so long trying to make them tell her where her boyfriend was that when the door opened and a young blonde came in to question her, her throat was so sore she could barely talk. Surprisingly she was served a mug of hot lemon and honey that soon soothed her aching voice box and enabled her to ask "Where's Max?"

"He's in another cell, with his friends"

"I want to see him"

"Soon…, we need to ask you a few questions first."

"Who are you?" Millie asked staring at the woman her head tilted to one side as she looked at her, she was so familiar.

"I'm going to be asking the questions here, now I need to know who you are, what are you doing in Russia, and why were you at that house?"

"I know your face from somewhere" totally ignoring the questions Millie cocked her head to one side and looked at the blonde in front of her "I've definitely seen you somewhere before… I can't quite place it."

"I seriously doubt that we've met, now answer my questions. Who are you?" The blonde hiding her slight apprehension at Millie's recognition got closer hoping to threaten the young girl but Millie just shook her head.

"You gotta try better than that if you want to scare me, now I want to see Max!" the woman moved back and stared at the young girl

"You have no idea how dangerous this all is. The things you are looking into could have you killed. You're just lucky we found you, if you had shown up at that house just two weeks ago you would've been shot."

There was a cold silence as the two of them looked at each other. Finally Millie opened her mouth to speak.

"Cheryl" Millie finally said smiling as she saw fear enter the woman's eyes "Now I know where I know you from, you're dating Hilary's cousin Jake. Hilary thought you were an alcoholic but given where we are and who I'm assuming you work for. I'm willing to bet that your alcoholic status was a cover. Am I right?"

"This is bullshit" Cheryl moved away from the girl but she was obviously shaken by what Millie was saying

"No" trying to look as relaxed as she could Millie grinned "I'll tell you what's bullshit, the idea that Jake disliked Hilary for just being a girl. He didn't dislike her at all, he was afraid for her because she was a girl. Jake knew everything… in fact… I'm willing to bet he was the agent that MI5 had undercover in the Tatibana business"

"You have no idea…"

"I want to see Max but if you can't manage that get Jake Tatibana here, I'm willing to talk to him, in fact I've got a few things to tell him."

--

If Millie had more confidence in herself she would have smirked as Jake Tatibana entered her cell. He looked so surprised that she would know him but he also seemed to recognise her. He was swiftly followed by three other agents, one she knew was Cheryl but the other two, a man and a woman were unknown to her.

"Millicent Davis, American, Beyblader, and two time Computer Hacker" Jake nodded to himself as he looked at the girl, "With friends like you I'm not surprised Hilary gets in as much trouble as she does."

"If you'd done your homework right you'd know that Hilary and I only became friends a short while ago" Millie was angry, she wanted to see her friends but instead she was stuck with a load of, what she assumed were, MI5 agents... Maybe MI6 she wasn't sure right now.

"Hilary and I didn't get along"

"Oh yeah right, I forgot. You hated her… right?"

"I didn't care about her either way." Jake sounded dismissive but Millie gave a derisive snort. "What's so funny?" he asked angrily

"Nothing, but you see I think you did care about her and you only pretended not to so that when she needed help you could help her and no one would suspect you"

"I don't know what you are on about"

"Yes!" Mille cut him off angrily "Yes you do, Now what I want to know is…" Millie broke off to stare intently at Jake "What I want to know is…. is there any reason why someone would want Hilary dead?"

"There isn't" Jake sighed, that was the bit he had never understood about Hilary's death "not dead anyway, my Grandfather needed her alive that's why I don't think he was at fault for what happened, of course I still have to try stop his work, God only knows what he's doing now."

"But there is something her grandfather would want to do, if she was still alive?"

"Telling you would mean revealing a secret against my family that I have struggled to keep buried for years, I can't do it! Besides I work for MI5 if I told you anything I'd be breaking the law"

"Alright, you don't have to tell me. How about I talk and you stop me when I'm wrong?" she offered

He thought about it for a while before turning to the agents behind him, "Should I agree?"

"We might as well" The dark haired woman whispered nodding after all there could be no shame in telling her about it now, and if she really knew everything they weren't breaking the rules "I mean… this way we'll find out what they know."

"Alright" Jake turned back to Millie and smiled "tell us what you know."

"Here's what I got so far, Hilary's Grandfather has always had an interest in DNA, in fact he used his early studies of DNA to try and find a way of breeding the perfect Beyblader am I right?"

"How did you….?"

"It's called computer hacking, you know I can do it, I'm not proud of it -Ok actually I am- but I need to know for sure. Some people put false files into their computer to confuse hackers. Now am I right?"

There was a pointed silence but after a few moments Jake nodded "Keep going"

"Horatio did in fact find two very surprising DNA strands that when combined made a perfect specimen, now this was surprising because it was the DNA of himself and his best friend Voltaire Hiwatari, how am I doing now?"

"Keep going"

"Great! The annoying thing about these two strands of DNA was that neither family had a female. Both their mothers had died while they were young, neither of them had any sisters, Voltaire had two brothers who produced one child but they believed that the DNA was corrupted and Horatio was an only child. They then decided that having children was the ideal plan, they both married -for love I have to assume- but Voltaire produced only one son and after that his wife soon died. That is why I assume they married for love and why it was a problem. Having married for love, he didn't want to do it again so it fell upon Horatio to produce a daughter. Am I still right?"

"I'm not stopping you."

"Unfortunately Horatio only had sons, a lot of sons but only sons, they then hoped for grandchildren. You see Hilary explained to me that her grandfather encourages families for his sons, when they marry they get a house and when they have their first kid they get a 'gift' of money. Of course for ages there was no girl, and as it became ever more unlikely that a girl would be produced they started to give up on using DNA, what they had called Plan A. For a while they toyed with the idea of creating a clone of some sort but this never worked they usually died after about ten minutes, they also looked into test tube babies but it was the early days and they all usually were either not viable or male. Am I right?"

"Go on"

"Then they discovered that Brady was a genius, and interested in developing those cybernetics that were inside the Blitzkrieg Boys. They had decided to investigate those, Plan B, it became their new obsession. When Hilary was born they weren't too bothered with her but she was a nice little safety net in case the cybernetics went wrong. So they allowed her a normal life keeping her away from beyblading if at all possible and concentrated on working with the Blitzkrieg Boys. Am I still getting all this right?"

"Keep going"

"Alright this is all I've got left" Millie walked to stand in front of Jake "Does her family know everything about all this? And would you all help her?"

"Why do you need to know that?"

"Just answer the question"

"Yes a lot of us know, and a lot of us would do anything to help her"

"Good, you see I needed to know if there was a reason why anyone would fake Hilary's death."

"Fake it?" Jakes face lit up momentarily "you mean… you can't mean?"

"I mean that Hilary's grandfather knows her family and friends would do anything to help her, if she disappeared we would never stop looking! With her huge family and huge amount of friends even with his money he wouldn't be able to stop us. You'd all know just where to start. But if we all thought she was dead…."

"Yes!" Jake jumped up looking animated for a moment then dropped back down into his chair "No…. I saw the body, I know it was cremated early but I saw the body in the morgue…. Loads of us saw her. It was a nice idea but…."

"Have you forgotten half of what I just said?"

"No but…."

"Cloning Jake, they cloned her" It was Cheryl who spoke now "I never even thought…"

"You knew he could clone people?" Jake asked turning to look at the blonde agent "why didn't you tell me?"

"It was before you worked with us, the information was classified"

"We're married, we should tell each other everything!"

"Married?" Millie interrupted astonished

"Give them a second" the dark haired woman "They do this a lot"

"Tell each other everything?" Cheryl asked "so why didn't you tell me what happened in Buenos Aires?"

"Oh…OK so married secret agents will always have secrets" Jake nodded blushing "Shall we get back to…"

"Interrogating the blonde?" Cheryl asked "Of course… but… isn't that what got you into trouble in Buenos Aires?"

"Moving swiftly on…" Jake turned back to Millie looking even more embarrassed. "Yes we're married, it's a long story…" Suddenly Jake became serious and all the agents looked businesslike once more "tell me about the cloning"

"I've looked into their files and it takes about two weeks for them to make a suitable clone depending on size and age, there was over a three week break before anything happened to Hilary. Have you read the autopsy report?"

"Yeah, they showed us the autopsy report. So…,so the clones only lived for…of course, if the clone was going to die anyway why not drown it? and toss into the water when you pull Hilary out. She's still alive" he looked stunned "but I still don't fully understand, she's so young. Why didn't they wait until she was older?"

"I think Kai and Hilary getting together was the final catalyst. If the two of them were to accidentally get pregnant it would make things more difficult. Kai's extremely possessive and I seriously doubt he'd have let anything happen to Hilary and his child. They could try to take the baby once it was born but they'd need the plan to be perfect and there's no telling what could happen during the pregnancy. They wanted Hilary, pregnant with a Hiwatari child under controlled conditions."

"Hilary would have fought back"

"Not if she didn't know who she was…"

"Professor Wingblade" the male agent who had been silent until now suddenly spoke up "Of course… that's why he was in Russia"

"The memory man?" Cheryl asked and received a nod

"So there really is a memory repressing serum that they might have used?" Millie asked "wow, I can't believe they told the truth"

"Who?"

"Kendall and Lando…" Millie trailed off remembering that by talking about what had happened she would reveal what Kai had done.

"You got them to admit what had happened?" Jake asked sounding impressed when Millie nodded he wasn't the only one to look shocked.

"Damn" Cheryl muttered "it sounds so impossible but… knowing those guys like I do, I believe it. That could be it though…, when Agent Sanders and I were on the phone she said that she had seem something that seemed impossible. What if she saw Hilary?"

"We've searched that house over with a fine toothcomb… nothing there suggests anyone but Voltaire and Horatio"

"There was a child there. Probably Brady's child" Millie told them

"How do you know that?"

"This" Millie reached into her pocket for the small piece of plastic that she had found "It's from a child's toy."

"I guess that's one thing we didn't pay attention to, Brady is supposed to have a son, that's one thing we did find out when we first searched for him." Jake muttered

Millie nodded, she was about to rejoin the conversation to talk about Brady and what he had done when she remembered who she was here with. Even though she was no longer afraid there was no telling what Max was thinking right now. Cheryl who had been watching her smiled kindly "Let's reunite the group"

--

Since the agent had left them Max had started yelling again, he was pounding on the door desperately trying to get someone's attention. He was terrified about what the problem with Millie could be and once again his mind was going crazy. Was she ill? Had she fought back and been hurt? Had they tortured her?

"Relax Max" Kai spoke calmly "These guys don't work for my grandfather, I'm sure Millie's only being questioned."

"The said there was a problem. I need to know she's ok."

"I know… believe me, I know"

Surprised Max nodded, he had not forgotten that Hilary was gone, or that she and Kai had been involved but Kai had been so calm that it seemed like a secondary consideration. Now Max was actually experiencing what Kai was feeling 24/7 he understood that maybe there was more going on underneath Kai's unruffled demeanour.

Finally the door opened, Max made instantly to rush at the person walking in but stopped when he saw who it was.

"Millie?" his eyes took in her appearance, she looked dishevelled and tired but other than that she seemed fine.

"MAX!" Millie ran into the room and running straight at her boyfriend threw her arms around the blonds neck "I was so worried about you!" she peppered his face with kisses while he ran his hands up and down her arms and back trying to make sure she hadn't been injured.

"I was worried about you too" Max whispered to her, he stopped her from kissing him to look into her eyes "Are you OK? Did they hurt you?"

"I'm fine" Millie rested her forehead against Max's staring straight back into his eyes "Just stressed, are you OK?"

"Fine" Max placed a quick kiss on her nose before pulling her even closer to him and burying his face in her long hair.

The reunited couple seemed to forget where they were for a while and didn't notice as two very annoyed looking people walked into the room.

"Jake Tatibana?" Tyson saw the man and immediately jumped to conclusions "I should have known that those tears at the funeral were fake. You've been a part of this all along haven't you? Where's Hilary?"

Most of the others had all jumped to the same conclusion and looked ready to back Tyson up but Kai moved in front of his hot tempered friends and shook his head

"No Tyson, these people don't work for my Grandfather!"

"How do you know?" Ray was equally suspicious but he was ready to bow to Kai's superior knowledge of Voltaire.

"Because if this was my grandfather and Hilary's at work I'm the only one that they'd bother to keep alive…. Maybe Tala but they'd have killed the rest of you pretty quickly."

"MI5" Kenny and Renaldo said together astonishing their jailers.

"Well that makes the explanation about ten minutes shorter" Cheryl told them with a laugh "I'm Cheryl Tatibana, MI5, I think it's time we all had a little chat"

--

"Hilary this is Dr Kensal" Horatio smiled as he introduced his granddaughter to the dark haired woman that Voltaire had picked out. He had to admit that the woman's crednetials were perfect but a part of him was worried that Hilary would recognise the woman. He was trying to keep anything that could jog Hilary's memory away from her and really a totally unknown doctor would have been better.

"Hello Hilary" Dr K smiled at the young brunette in front of her, she recognised her easily but decided not to mention to Horatio the time she had almost caused his granddaughter to plunge to her death ironically in the same place most people though she had met her death.

"A female doctor!" Hilary grinned "Thank goodness, I was worried I'd get another Dr Wingblade. He was a nice guy but he had awful breath."

Dr K laughed loudly before offering her hand to Hilary "I think we're going to get along just fine."

Smiling Hilary took the proffered hand and shook it, as she did so though she felt a jolt run through her. An odd sort of recognition.

"Is everything alright Hilary?" Horatio saw the frown cross the girls face

"Fine" Hilary shrugged just a little hungry, she plastered a fake smile onto her face and reassured her grandfather

"Are you sure?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing." she grinned "Just a bit of a Déjà vu moment from Dr Wingblade"

The two adults nodded and for a split second there was a shared look but as Hilary took to chatting to Dr K about her previous doctor their fears were soon alleviated. Everything seemed normal, still…

Horatio pondered for a moment, perhaps he should follow Boris's advice and install some security camera's around. Voltaire wasn't a fan of the idea, said that it would cause problems if Hilary found out and that was true. He'd talk to them and Dr K tonight get another opinion before deciding.

--

"So they're in America?" Kai immediately latched onto the fact, you could practically see him making plans to travel to the US and start searching for Hilary house by house.

"Wait… why aren't you there?" Tala asked the agents "If you know what state they're in…"

"And what town" Cheryl interrupted apologetically

"OK, so you know which part of America they're in why aren't you over there?"

"Because we aren't allowed" Brady muttered harshly "We're employed to keep an eye on my uncle and his shady dealings in Russia, we can't just go off half-cocked doing what we want. Of course we didn't know that Hilary might be alive…"

"Still we can't go to America, it'd blow our cover to say nothing of what it would mean to our investigation."

"You can't but I can" Kai told them determinedly "And I'm going."

"You can't, my grandfather told me where he was and not to tell anyone. As far as he knows I'm the only one who knows where he is. If you guys show up he'll suspect something and that'd blow my cover!" Jake told them, "I've been working on this project for years, I can't do anything to risk it now! If they found out about you guys just showing up so soon after coming to Russia it would appear highly suspicious."

"Not really" Millie shook her head, "we could be visiting for another reason!"

"What do you mean?" Ray asked "why would we go right from Russia to America. It's an odd holiday"

"Russia could be because of business for Kai, in fact we'll make a few stops at his places of business but America… well lets just say we've got friends there."

"None in Texas though" Max reminded her rubbing his hand up and down her arm. "It was a good idea though"

"Actually that's where you're wrong, I have exactly two friends that will be in Texas in three days time. That gives us plenty of time to go to Kai's work and then get over there to see them."

"We have friends that will be in Texas in three days time?"

"Yep!"

"Who?"

* * *

I was going to make Hilary sketch Kai, that's the standard fanfic deal but I didn't want her to be one of those types of clichéd characters that has an untapped talent for art and so her sketching a beyblade has the same connotations.

Love you guys by the way!

Please R&R


	15. First attempt

Shorter chapter today but the last one was really quite long and the next one probably will be as well so forgive me!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Hilary liked meals when it was just herself and her grandfather, the two of them would end up sitting on the sitting room floor having an indoor picnic and conversation would be light-hearted and full of stories of her past. Unfortunately by the end of dinner she was feeling rather drowsy for some reason. She stifled a yawn in the middle of his amusing account of her third birthday where apparently she had been given a stuffed rabbit that she had promptly buried in the back garden because, she had reasoned, rabbits lived in holes.

"Hilary?" Horatio smiled at his granddaughter across the picnic blanket they had set out, she was starting to look tired as her eyes seemed to become wider as she tried to force herself to stay awake

"Yes?" she shook her head trying to rouse herself properly.

"Are you feeling alright? You look tired"

"I-I'm fine… just a little…" before she could finish Hilary had slumped to the floor in a faint.

Horatio showed no reaction to this development, he merely stood and pulling out a radio from his pocket muttered instructions. In seconds three men had walked into the room and while two lifted Hilary and carried her out the third began to clear up the dinner things. Horatio merely watched before sitting back on the sofa. In a few minutes Boris and Voltaire walked in, Horatio smiled a welcome.

"She's with Dr K now" Boris said quietly as he and Voltaire found themselves a seat each.

"Very good" Horatio nodded to the two men "Though this is the first time we try the process, I have high hopes that we will be successful"

"Hilary is at her most fertile now" Boris agreed with a nod "the doctor is sure of that."

"There is something else that we need to discuss" Horatio looked carefully at the two men. "I spoke with Dr K about Boris's plans to put in a camera system. She believes that it would be a good idea especially if we set it up, keeping an eye on Hilary's condition will be easier that way. Are you still so against it Voltaire?"

"Not if the doctor wants it" Voltaire told him "I am merely concerned for Hilary's trust in us but if the doctor thinks its important then we shall do so."

"How long would it take to do it?" Horatio turned to Boris

"A few hours, I already have the equipment"

"Very presumptuous of you, Hilary should be unconscious for the next twenty four hours…"

"So long?" Voltaire asked surprised

"The treatment is more likely to work if she spends some time lying down afterwards, knowing her active behaviour she wouldn't do that. Drugging her for a little longer was easier and if she stays in bed a little longer thinking she's a little unwell then all the better for it."

"I'll get to work straight away." Boris told them and standing he left the room, Voltaire watched him go and waited until he was sure he was alone with his friend before asking

"Are you sure camera's are a good idea?"

"We need to watch her closer than ever before when she gets pregnant."

"Have you decided on a way to explain away the pregnancy yet?"

"It will be simple enough, she knows nothing of how long a pregnancy takes or even how one comes about. Dr K is going to sort out a way to explain it to her."

--

It had been over a week since they left Russia and they were finally in America. It had been difficult to convince their captors and their captors bosses to allow them to go but apparently Kai, and Tala had been able to help MI5 with some information from their abbey days. After that they had to make the obligatory visits to Kai's business ventures so as to keep to the story that was 'accidently' leaked to the press. Still a week was a very short amount of time when you compared it to how long they had already been waiting.

"Julia!" Millie waved at her friend as they ran across the tarmac runway embracing as they met half way.

"Hey Millie!" Pulling away from the blonde Julia looked over her shoulder to see the rest of the visitors. "And hello to everyone else!" She hadn't been expecting a cheery welcome from the others but the way they seemed to completely disregard her was more than a little insulting

"Oh don't mind them" Millie saw Julia's confusion and brushed off the others manners "How are you? And Raul? Is he around?"

"No" Julia's smile was back as she turned to her friend "he and the others moved on last night, there was some big to do in town… it's a long story but you said it was really important that you see me. How come it's just you guys? Mariah should still be able to travel and Tia will be fine soon"

"I know it's a long story, and I'm really grateful that you stuck around"

"The circus can manage without me for a while, they do it every time there's a big competition but you didn't explain why you guys were visiting, you said you'd tell me everything when you got here"

"Yeah, and I meant everything" Millie whispered as she bit her lip "Can we talk somewhere? I don't want anyone… not even the others to hear this, I don't think they'll want me to tell you but… come this way"

"Blimmin clown" Tala muttered as he watched Julia lead Millie away from them

"C'mon Tala it's a good thing they're here. If it weren't for the circus being in Texas we might not have been released by MI5..." Ray paused shaking his head "Now there's a sentence I've never said or heard before"

"Or will probably say or hear ever again." Tyson agreed smiling

"Is everything OK Kai?" Kenny looked over at the Russian who was in deep discussion with the pilot, Kai held up a hand to hold off the question. He looked concerned about something. After a short conversation with his pilot Kai came across to talk to the others.

"Ok Vanzo's going to ask around discretely and see if he can find out about recent flights into the area."

"Right" Kenny nodded happily "And I'll use my database to start searching the area for any names that are anagrams or similar to Tatibana or Hiwatari. I'll also look to see who's moved here recently."

"Make sure you look up food orders as well" Max suggested "after all they might have had the place they're staying at for a while and they may have used another name. Look up places that have recently started having delivery's made to them, that's how we tracked them down last time."

"Good point" Kenny nodded as he clutched his laptop tighter to his side "I'll start looking when we get to our hotel… hey why's Julia looking so mad?"

"I dunno" Tala shrugged "maybe she finally realised that her hair makes her look like…"

"Do not finish that!" Julia warned Tala angrily her eyes flashed with rage and her face was flushed "Why haven't you told everyone yet?"

"Told everyone about what?" Tyson asked trying to look innocent

"You told her?" Renaldo looked at Millie surprised

"We're putting her in danger just by visiting her" Millie told them angrily "I'm fed up with all the secrecy and lies, I wish we could just tell people."

"And have Voltaire and Horatio panic?" Kai asked mockingly "The minute that they work out that people know they'll disappear to a place that we'll never find them and God only knows what they'd do to Hilary. I refuse to risk losing her again"

Julia looked at Kai and after some heavy thinking she nodded "Alright, for Hilary's sake I'll keep quiet but you do all realise that you're stuck with me now"

"Why is it that the minute I get rid of one mouthy female, another one enters my life?" Tala groaned as he asked the heavens above his question

"Because life is good" Tyson told him with a smile knowing that Julia got just as annoyed with Tala as Tia did, he was used to girls fawning over Tala and so when they didn't he had to admit that things were more fun. "Julia it's great to have you on board!"

"Thanks Tyson" Julia grinned at the dark haired boy before turning back to Millie "Come on lots get you guys settled at the hotel, I'm willing to bet that you want to shower and eat before we really get down to business. I've got you booked in the same hotel as me! We'll be with each other all the time!"

"You know" Tala mentioned as he looked up at the sky "It says that god loves all human beings equally, but I think he's really got it in for me!"

--

"How are you feeling now?" Dr K seemed concerned as she looked at the pale brunette lying in her bed "You rather panicked your grandfather when you collapsed."

"I'm OK I guess… I don't quite understand why I fainted" Hilary laughed nervously "there's nothing really wrong with me is there?"

"Not at all" Dr K sat on the edge of the bed wearing a motherly smile "But I do wonder if you've been straining yourself recently, trying to remember things and placing unnecessary stress on your mind."

"Oh…" nodding Hilary smiled at the dark haired lady, truth be told she was going to prefer having a female doctor, she had liked Dr Wingblade but there were certain questions that were easier to talk to a woman about, if it hadn't been for Samantha she would never have understood some of the things her body did! And she spoke in words she understood "I guess I have been straining myself a little, trying to remember… you see I found…"

"You found what dear?"

Hilary bit her lip and stared at her hands, could she trust this woman? "If I tell you something, do you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Well…" Dr K smiled warmly while her mind cold and calculating told her to make sure this young girl trusted her implicitly "I suppose so, under normal circumstances I'd just say yes but with your mind the way it is…" after a short while of pretending to be thinking Dr K finally smiled at the girl "alright, I promise not to tell."

"Well… I find that I want to remember my parents more, I know grandfather says they are dead and he does not wish to talk about them too much I really want to know them"

"I see" Dr K retained her smile, it was not the big secret she was hoping for but at least the girl was confiding in her "Well I won't tell if you promise to rest more, the mind isn't like the rest of the body, where your muscles will ache to tell you that they are tired the mind sometimes just shuts down for a while. OK?"

"I'll relax more" Hilary nodded in agreement

"Good, now you get some sleep" Standing Dr K left the room a small smile playing on her lips, she rather liked it when people were as compliant as this girl was. The minute she had said to go to sleep Hilary had rolled over closing her eyes to do so.

With Dr Kensal gone Hilary's eyes snapped open, she was about to climb out of bed to get the jewellery box but… she stopped. If the doctor was right then perhaps she ought to leave the book alone for now. She had been going to tell the doctor everything but something… she wasn't sure what, made her suspicious, she thought it was probably because the lady had taken so long trying to work out whether or not to tell her grandfather but… she couldn't say for sure. Rolling over and shifting around to get comfortable Hilary closed her eyes and decided to try and sleep.

No thinking about Kai tonight.

Well… not for too long!

--

Watching through the camera Boris looked at the still figure on the bed, since Dr K had left the room she had only moved once and that was to turn over into another position. As far as he could see Hilary wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary.

There was no sound but truthfully audio wasn't really important, they needed to keep an eye on Hilary's activities to make sure that she rested properly or to make sure she didn't act suspiciously. Shrugging he leaned back in his chair, perhaps these cameras were unnecessary but at least this way if something went wrong no one could blame him for not being more vigilant… that reminded him.

Moving to the phone he picked it up and dialled a number.

"H-hello?"

"Kendall?" Boris frowned "you don't sound particularly attentive."

"Bad nights sleep" Kendall muttered angrily

"Well I was just checking in on you two, anything new?"

"Nothing to report"

"I assumed as much. Alright keep up with the watch, we'll contact you if we need anything, I'll call you in another month"

Hanging up Boris frowned, it sounded like Lando and Kendall weren't concentrating on their work now that he wasn't keeping constant watch over them. He'd phone them in a few days time as a surprise check up.

--

It was with utter hatred that Kendall stared at Spencer as he hung up the phone, Spencer on the other hand was smiling cheerfully.

"Now that wasn't too hard was it?"

"If Boris ever finds out"

"Oh he will" Spencer said with a dark smile "And I'm personally looking forward to the day when he comes looking for you and Lando, we might let him kill you two off doing the dirty work for us and then… lets just say that Ian, Bryan and I have been waiting to roll out the red carpet for him for a long time."

"A very long time" Bryan agreed as he and Ian walked up behind Spencer, both wore matching grins that showed Kendall that these men meant what they said "and by the way, if you ever try to warn him… well… we'll make what Kai did to you seem like the nicest thing that ever happened to you."

* * *

Please R&R


	16. Thinking of others

Thank you so much for reviewing!

Ok the first part of this chapter was written a long time ago when I was writing my first story and I intended it as a one-shot about Kai and Hilary's thoughts but with a bit of rewriting it works here. When I was writing it I was listening to Wallis Bird's Just keep going. I recommend that you listen to it, it's a great song!

It may take a while to write the next chapter but I promise not to desert this story!

I do not own beyblade

* * *

"_Grandpa please" Hilary begged as she stared up at the cruel man in front of her, she looked tired and worn Tears were streaming down her face, the cruel man in front of her spoke briefly before turning and leaving her._

"_Don't do this!"_

_For a while she continued to beat her fists against the door but as she got no response she gave up sliding to the floor exhausted with all that was happening. Kai wanted so badly to comfort her but all he could do was watch helplessly as she cried._

Groaning as he awoke Kai tried to get the dream he had just had out of his head. Ever since learning that Hilary was alive he had been having nightmares of what she could be going through.

"Hilary"

Staring up at the ceiling he sighed, he hadn't been able to sleep properly in ages, he was tired but at the same time he was wide awake and anxious to get out there to get her back to his side. It had been too long since he had seen her held her, he still loved her with all his being but he knew that there was a chance she'd never love him again even if she remembered him he wasn't the person he used to be.

Climbing out of bed Kai pulled on some clothes and left his room, walking through the corridors he made his way out of the hotel.

--

_Hilary was sitting on a hard and uncomfortable plastic chair, beside her sat a boy with dark hair. She felt afraid, but not for herself, she felt afraid for the figure with his back to her standing directly in her line of sight. He had grey hair, but it was a blue grey colour and he didn't look old, even from the back he looked young. Young and distressed, his shoulders were hunched, his feet apart, his fists clenched as he stared up._

_Looking up Hilary immediately caught sight of what was enraging him. She stood up completely dumbfounded by what was above her._

_There it was, that bird… the one she had drawn on that spinning top thingy when she was awake, it was hurtling through the air but… there was something impeding it's flight, a purple thing blurred to her vision was wrapping itself around the bird, choking it… no not choking it, stealing it. The two disappeared into a beam of light until all that was left was a glowing red feather that floated down into the boys hand_

"_He, he took Dranzer" she whispered in disbelief_

Suddenly the scenery changed and Hilary found that she was no longer standing in a stadium surrounded by seats and people, she was on a cliff edge, to her left was a wide blue expanse of water and to her right her hand was resting on the rock of the cliff as it towered above her.

_There was a shout behind her, she turned a little but a rumbling above her grabbed her attention. Hilary looked up and screamed, above her was impending death, rocks were falling down on her, she couldn't seem to move, she was frozen on the spot, suddenly she felt herself being pushed to one side. Closing her eyes she tried to shut out the noise and confusion, finally she said "I think it's over" and then heard a concerned voice speaking_

"_Are you alright?"_

_She looked up to find apprehensive grey eyes staring down at her "Yeah I think so"_

Hilary shot up in her bed gasping, that was one strange dream. Was it real? She didn't recollect it at all. She hated not being able to remember, she felt so weak, so damaged… but those eyes…

She shook her head frowning, she couldn't get those eyes out of her mind, they were so full of feeling and concern. It was stupid dream through, that sort of thing didn't happen in real life.

"Kai"

It was ridiculous, she was falling in love with a guy she didn't even know, what if he didn't love her back. Groaning she flopped back down on the bed sighing, she didn't like this, it felt like there was a game and she was constantly playing it. Right now it seemed as though she would never win.

--

Out in the street Kai looked up and down the road to the left was a town busy and filled with nightlife, he could probably get a drink there. He hadn't been for a drinking binge in ages. To the right was a long road leading to seemingly nowhere, the lights along the road petered out into nothingness. He could easily get lost out there. A drink would be good right now.

Turning he started to walk.

--

It was getting lighter outside now, it wasn't so dark in the room despite the curtains that hung at the windows.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and made her way into the bathroom. Staring into the mirror she grimaced, whoever this person, this Kai was, did she really want to find him again? Would he be able to accept the blithering idiot she now considered herself to be?

Smiling a little at her description of herself Hilary noticed something else, she wasn't as happy as she felt she should be. She didn't smile as widely as she had done before she knew about Kai. Sometimes she would be talking to someone and would suddenly have a great desire to talk to Kai… which was ridiculous. For all she knew Kai might not have liked to talk to her. He might have been very talkative, still sometimes when she was alone she found herself imagining conversations with him, it wasn't a good idea though. Sometimes after one of her imaginary conversations with Kai she'd forget that it hadn't been real and would almost mention it to her grandfather.

She wanted to remember, she needed to.

She decided there and then that she didn't care how much of a strain it placed on her to do it

Moving back to her bed Hilary lay down, it was too early to get up now and besides, she felt tired. She'd get a little sleep, maybe just five minutes.

--

Watching the sunrise as he walked along the road Kai felt himself become more relaxed, he hadn't done this in so long. Slowly his pace picked up and he began to jog, his feet hit the ground bouncing himself into the air as his arms, fixed in a bend at the elbow, began to swing back and forwards. Soon he was moving faster, no longer jogging but moving in the style of a seasoned marathon runner. His feet pounded onto the ground, his breathing became a little more laboured, and his heart rate picked up.

He wasn't running to anywhere, not right now but he was running for a purpose.

He was going to get her back

Not just away from those two bastards that had taken her

He was going to win her again, no matter what it took to do it.

He was going to make himself strong and healthy so that when the time came to fight he would always be the winner.

--

It was at breakfast time that everyone noticed Kai's absence. He wasn't very sociable at meal as a rule but at a hotel he couldn't help but join them especially as he was sharing a room with Tala who would usually drag him down with him to the restaurant.

Everyone was sitting around the table, Millie chatting and giggling with Julia very appreciative of having another female around. Renaldo, Max and Ray were discussing America and previous trips there while Kenny had his laptop open and was tapping away.

"He's gone out" Tala muttered as he threw himself into the nearest empty chair, he grabbed a plate and began helping himself to food seemingly unaware of the curious looks he was getting.

"Gone out?" Renaldo asked staring at the redhead

"Yes"

"Where? When?"

"Where I can only guess and given the close proximity of the local nightlife it's not a good guess, When must have been very late last night or early this morning."

"You don't think he's gone drinking do you?" Tyson asked looking shocked "he hasn't done that since he discovered Hilary was alive"

"No but it wouldn't surprise me, I've been waiting for him to slip" Renaldo muttered "the way he's been restraining himself. He hasn't been drinking but he hasn't been eating much either, maybe he finally slipped."

"I would be surprised" Max said his brow creased in thought "I don't think he has gone drinking"

"Where else would he have gone at the time he did?"

"Walking" Max gave a laugh "Come on guys, you can't tell me you've all forgotten what Kai used to be like when something was troubling him."

"Midnight walks and us waking up to discover he'd done one of his disappearing acts" Ray nodded in agreement "Max could be right"

"I guess" Tyson nodded "He did used to do that a lot… trouble is none of us could ever find him"

"Hilary could" Julia said quietly "she did it a number of times in my memory."

"Only when he wanted to be found" Tala said reminiscently "He'd never admit it to any of us, but he liked having her come after him to tell him what to do."

They all nodded quietly but further reminiscences and discussion was halted when the door opened and Kai himself walked into the room. Silently he nodded to them all and made his way to take the remaining empty seat at the table, placing himself between Renaldo and Tyson he looked around disinterestedly. Everyone was staring at him curiously but ignoring them, he instead looked at the food on the table. Reaching forward he helped himself to the cereal at the table and picked an apple and banana from the fruit bowl.

Everyone was surprised as he ate steadily consuming an unusually substantial and healthy breakfast. There was no smell of alcohol on him in fact instead of looking dazed and intoxicated he looked awake and vigorous. It wasn't until the meal was finished that Kai looked at Kenny

"Have you found anything yet?"

"Nothing under names but… just over a week ago there was a large delivery service at a ranch outside of town… there was also a security firm hired from New York and they came down to secure the place… and recently there was a large delivery of security cameras… if that's the one we want…"

"Which it probably is" Kai intoned dolefully

"Then it's going to be like breaking in and out of Colditz"

"So practically impossible?"

"I didn't say that… it just requires above average intelligence and a lot of stealth."

"So first things first" Renaldo said "we need to discover if this is the place we want."

"How do we do that?"

--

Hilary wasn't sure how long she'd been dozing but she couldn't be bothered to even get up to look at the clock. From the light that was peeking through the curtains she imagined that it must be at least six or seven am but she couldn't say for sure. A knock at the door told Hilary that she was not the only one awake now, stretching she sat up in her bed. She was surprised when she saw the clock it was quite a lot later than she had suspected, eight thirty in fact "Come in"

"Good morning" Samantha walked in with a tray of breakfast looking bright and happy, upon noticing Hilary's tired face she immediately became concerned "Are you alright?"

"Just a long night…" Hilary paused putting a hand to her head "and consequently a slight headache."

Moving forward Samantha placed the tray of food beside Hilary's bed "Hilary" Samantha looked her directly in the eye "If you have a headache here take these."

"What are they?" Hilary looked down at the two white pills "They don't look like paracetemol"

"They're not… they're… asprin, they do the same thing." Samantha moved away from the bed as she said this

"Oh" Hilary nodded and with the help of the mug of tea on the tray swallowed the two pills easily. "Thank you"

"That's alright, you just eat and stay well, Sammy missed you yesterday"

"Perhaps you could bring him in here later" Hilary suggested smiling wanly "I'd like to see him and we could watch a movie together or something… Samantha?"

"Yes?"

"Why does Sammy never go to school, or have friend's to visit. I know it must be harder for his friends to visit in America but he never had any in Russia either and he never speaks of friends either"

"No real reason" Samantha lied as she stood to leave the room "We had you to think of in Russia and in America he has no friends." She was at the door by the end of this speech her hand on the handle ready to depart.

"One more thing before you go" Hilary asked watching Samantha carefully, she was pretty sure that her aunt was lying and she was beginning to get the feeling that everyone in this house was lying to her, she decided to do something a bit daring "Anatowa Nihongo ga wakadimas ka?"

Samantha's eyes widened fearfully "Scoshi… how did you?"

"Grandfather told me I had lived most of my life in England or Russia, he never mentioned Japan. Why not?"

"I cannot tell you, and please do not tell anyone that you understand Japanese. I can't explain, I have my son to think of." and with that Samantha left the room leaving Hilary feeling alone and very confused.

--

"You gave them to her?" Brady asked his wife as she neared him

"Yeah, she had a headache I told her they were asprin"

"Good" Brady nodded feeling relieved "she should be safe for another month at least."

"And then what?" Samantha asked "We can't keep doing this forever, she's beginning to remember, she's been speaking Japanese! She remembers things"

"That's impossible" Brady was stunned, none of the test subjects had ever remembered anything, the language that was used around them was the one they used.

"Obviously not, something's triggered memories, she asked about Kai! Even if she doesn't remember everything, there's **them **to think about. They'll get suspicious if she doesn't get pregnant and then…"

"I'll work something out" Brady interrupted her frowning "I'll… I'll manage something. I won't let another child be subject to those men, all those boys we used to see at the abbey, Kai, Hilary, even Sammy. He's never known a proper life, never had friends his own age. How screwed up is that? You must hate me for the life you're living"

"It's not your fault" Samantha flung her arms around her husband in a bid to comfort him "I've never blamed you for any of this. I love you, and I'll never leave you"

"You won't have to" Brady told her "When I next get out of this place we're all going. All of us."

* * *

BTW Hilary asks (in very basic phonetically spelt Japanese because I don't speak it very well) "Do you understand Japanese?" and Samantha replies "A little"

See you around and I'm in need of some R&R… you guys make sure you R&R!!


	17. Further Investigations

Thank you all so much for reviewing, bit of a short one, if I blame coursework will you all believe me?

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

"I don't like this" Max stated as he watched Kenny typing away at his screen, the only other person in the room was Tala and he didn't appear the least bit interested in anything other than his third cup of coffee.

"You've already said that more times than I can count" Kenny reiterated keeping his eyes glued to the screen

"I've said it fifty three times, If you can't count that high you're obviously not as smart as I thought."

"Oh, ha, ha"

"Max this is the only way" Tala told him "She'll be fine, anything goes wrong we'll be in there before anything happens"

"Oh so you can move faster than a speeding bullet now can you?" Max asked angrily, there was silence following this statement, neither of the other two boys had an answer for his question. "I wish I'd left her back home now, all my promises that I'd keep her safe and now we're…" He trailed off sighing. They continued to sit in silence until Julia entered the room a small smile on her face

"She looks amazing, I almost didn't recognise her. I'm a genius."

"I still don't like this" Max said for the fifty fourth time

"Well can you think of another way?" Julia snapped "because if you can then I'd love to hear it" There was a long period of silence during which Max wore a harsh glare "Exactly." Julia softened her attitude a little as she walked towards Max. "Millie's the only one of us that won't be recognised, especially with how she looks now."

Almost as if to emphasise the point the door opened then. "Millie?" Max was shocked, when Julia had said that Millie looked different she had meant it. Gone were the loose blonde curls that had previously cascaded down the girls back, in their place poker straight dark brown hair made Millie's face seem thinner. A couple of sessions under a tanning bed gave her an excellent skin tone, she had proved very conducive to tanning. Black contact lenses hid her eye colour and combined with small oval glasses made her look like a totally different person.

"Does it look ok?" Millie asked nervously, she had never made a big deal about her looks but she was feeling more than a little nervous as to how he was going to react to her 'makeover'.

"You look great" Max told her honestly smiling but there was a slight look of concern in his eyes. "I just want you to promise that you'll be very, very careful."

"I will be, don't worry."

"I always worry about you, you're my girl" Max kissed his girlfriend on the forehead before wrapping his arms around her and holding her very tight. "Just be very, very careful"

--

Tia sat with Mariah Lee and Daichi eating the breakfast that she had prepared, it was nothing special just cereal and toast but they were having to be very careful with what they ate these days. Mariah had to eat healthily, she had her child's health to think of, but she also couldn't stand certain smells. The other day Tia had been making paella only to have Mariah complain that the smell coming from the pan was making her sick, she had a real aversion to anything with any type of poultry in it these days. Today their meal was more silent than usual, they had heard about Boris's attempt to check up on Lando and Kendall and had been worried about if for a while. If someone discovered them missing the first place they'd probably look was here.

"Have you heard anything from them recently?" Tia asked quietly breaking the silence that had settled on them all since they had spoken their sleepy 'good morning'

"Not since they got to America and met up with Julia, of course that was only yesterday… time goes so slowly right now" Mariah smiled lightly as she bit into a slice of toast.

"Speak for yourself" Lee said catching sight of the clock and jumping up from his seat "C'mon D, we're gonna be late"

"I know" the young redhead chugged down his orange juice before standing and leaving with Lee "See you girls later!"

There Was a chorus of goodbyes and a few warnings from Lee to be careful, about such and such, the girls weren't really listening. As soon as the boys had left silence descended on the two girls, they went about their daily routine of washing the dishes and getting ready for the day before settling themselves down at a desk and opening up their books.

"Ok so we've covered recent events and found photos and articles about Hilary from papers and magazines" Mariah said looking down at the box file on her desk "But I think we need to go back earlier, you've known her longest, lets talk about what you remember and then… Are you OK?" Mariah asked cutting off her brief outline of the days plans to stare at Tia who had begun to cry.

Tia looked up not bothering to wipe the tears away "No, it's just that I've known Hilary longer than anyone else involved in this. I knew her better than her family did"

"Well that wasn't exactly hard, I'd say Tala knew her better than her family and he hadn't even known her a year"

"I guess" Tia nodded sadly

Mariah noticed her expression and tried to distract her by going back to what she had started to say "How did you two meet anyway?"

"Long story"

"I got time, that's what we're here for."Mariah grinned and pulling out a pen got ready to write down what the other girl said.

"Ok then….when I was three my mom sent me to these ballet classes, they were dull as hell but I was a quiet kid and did as I was told"

"I don't believe you" Mariah laughed at the idea of Tia being a quiet and obedient kid.

"Believe it! I was a good girl, until one day about a year after I started the classes this timid looking brunette came in" Tia grinned at the memory "and I thought, here comes another one who thinks she can be a fairy princess."

"Cynical! Somehow I think you changed your opinion pretty soon" Tia grinned at Mariah who was scribbling down everything she said and nodded before continuing with her story.

"Yeah. Well our teacher was the fiercest most horrifying lady you can imagine, no one ever spoke back to her. No one dared, when she yelled it was terrifying and she was so tall. Of course to four year old most people are tall. Hilary just nodded and did as she was told looking afraid just like everyone else. All through the lesson the teacher screamed and shouted at us and Hilary was as good as gold, although I soon learned she was usually in trouble with her parents but she was good in class. For a whole year it was like that but then one day…." Tia sighed "One day after a really long lesson right towards the end the teacher said, 'I want you all to that again one more time' so we all did then there was still five minutes left so she said 'do it again.' Hilary just sat down, legs crossed, arms folded, refusing to do it. The teacher walked up to her and told her to do as she was told. Hilary just stared at her like she was dumb, then she told her 'you said one more time, I did it one more time I am doing as I was told' Then she stood up and walked out. It was the bravest thing I had ever seen and before I knew it I was walking out with her. I just followed her, the teacher was yelling and screaming but I knew I needed to follow this brave girl." Tia paused wiping away her tears

"Sounds like Hilary"

"We sat in the cloakroom and she smiled at me, you know that smile, it's the one that makes you feel like anything's possible. We just played silly games for the last few minutes. When our mothers arrived they were told what trouble we had been but Hilary's mother just shrugged like it was normal and my mum was so impressed, she knew about the Tatibanas and how wealthy they were so she just did the same. Our mothers went for lunch and we just ran around playing games. She came back to those classes every summer for years, and it was like we were always together. Apparently our mothers thought we were good for each other, I stopped being so shy and she stopped being so naughty. Mariah… how come only Millie chose to chase this up and believed she was still alive? Why didn't I see it?" Tia began to cry harder than ever and Mariah moved to sit closer to her simply putting her arms around her and holding her close

"I should have done something as well" Mariah admitted, "I feel just as guilty as you do, probably more considering.… But everyone kept saying to us, I know it doesn't feel real but that's because you all loved her so much. Millie was also the only one who knew that though she should miss Hilary she would have a mind clear enough to work through all this. We were grieving but she had the methodical mind that would separate her feelings from the reality."

"I guess"

"It doesn't matter now though, they've gone after her, they're going to get her back and then we'll help her to remember everything she's ever forgotten… now come on, tell me some more about your childhood with Hilary."

--

"So you have experience working as a caterer?"

"Yes, I have listed my references there, you can contact any of my old employers."

"Of course… and why are you wanting this job? You're from Nevada, you're pretty far from home."

"I know, I'm asserting my independence and I used to visit this area as a child. It has some happy memories for me. I have enough money to get myself a place but I need a job."

"That's the way of the world." The man joked and Millie smiled in agreement "Well, we'll check your references but if everything's correct, you can begin work here on Monday. I'll call you on Friday to confirm"

"Thank you kindly" bowing a little Millie left the room and sighed with relief, when the plan had first been suggested she had been worried, recently her looks had gotten her a lot of attention. Now with long dark brown hair, Millie began to feel a bit more anonymous, her bright blonde tresses had always made her stand out in a crowd but now she felt a little more able to blend in.

as soon as she was out of the office block she pulled out her phone and dialled a number, the phone rang for a few moment s before being picked up

"Hello" the voice sounded tense

"It's me, everything's fine Tala, I got the job, just a regular interview, I get the feeling that if Hils is in that house she never sees the delivery people."

"Good work Millie, maybe now I can stop Max from crawling up the walls with worry. Get back to your flat ASAP, we'll set up a web link and talk to you there"

"Sure thing." Millie walked away from the caterers smiling widely. It was a small company that specialised in big events and catering for hotels and large houses. In particular they catered for a large ranch that stood on the very edge of the small town. They had only just started to cater to the ranch but then the place had been empty for years. About two weeks ago a few people had moved in. Rumours were that there were two older men living there, a young woman and a child had been seen playing in the grounds but the property was private so no one had any proper descriptions of the girl.

Part of Millie's job was to help with delivery's to the place.

She was really looking forward to it.

--

"She's got the job" Tala told Max "there was nothing special about the interview, no Voltaire, no Horatio…"

"Great, so she still could get recognised"

"Max if I hadn't known who she was I wouldn't have known who she was."

"Whatever." Max shrugged and sat back in his chair.

In order for Millie to keep her cover as a newcomer to the town who was hoping to settle down she had moved out of the hotel and was settled in a small one bedroom, one bathroom apartment. It was already obvious that Max was missing the girl, he could be heard walking around the hotel room muttering things about sending Millie 'into the lions den' and putting her 'in unnecessary danger'.

Unfortunately there was no other way to gather the information they needed to know. Every single one of the boys had not only met the two men but had been studied by them in earnest. Julia was well known to Boris after the BEGA incident and had such distinctive looks that there was no way she could be mistaken for someone new.

The only one of them that could even hope to get away with their current and very daring plan was Millie, much to Max's displeasure.

Of course Max wasn't the only one hoping and praying that Millie got through this unscathed, even Kai who had once been heard saying that hope was dangerous and prayer for fools was hoping and praying for this one to work out.

* * *

Sorry there is so much non-action in this piece but the guys can't just jump into action and invade a house surrounded by guards with guns until they know they're in the right place. They learnt that last time! And I thought it would be good to just check up on the people left behind.

Next chapter we have Kendall and Lando again! Oh the fun of torture scenes!

Please R&R


	18. Prisoners

Thanks for the reviews!! Mucho love to you all

Not a lot of current Hils in the last chapter but I'm making up for it in this one. There is some stuff mentioned in here that's a little gruesome but the torture chapter is tamer than I originally planned.

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Boris sat alone in what had once been a walk in closet looking at the screen showing Hilary's bedroom. Over the last two days she had been acting normally but she seemed to become restless at night, her sleep pattern was a mess, she'd toss and turn or stand and walk around the room. Occasionally she'd pick up the jewellery box on her chest of drawers and sit on her bed with the silver box in her lap. Boris didn't have that much contact with Hilary, since the installation of the cameras' he was on security detail at night but he found her behaviour curious. Occasionally she'd open the jewellery box and trace her fingers along the velvet lining, she would sit for about five minutes before falling back upon her pillows and relaxing. When he had gone to Voltaire and Horatio about this odd behaviour her Grandfather decided that she was merely trying to remember things and that the box was her starting point.

If he didn't know better he'd accuse her of being a lovesick hormonal teenager.

For some reason that thought reminded him that he had planned to make a quick phone call to check in with Lando and Kendall.

Pulling out his phone he dialled the necessary number and waited for the other end to pick up.

"H-hello"

"Lando?" Boris questioned the boy

"No it's Kendall again, Lando's…, Lando's… out."

"He shouldn't be out so often, what are you two up to over there?"

"Nothing sir"

"Anything to report?"

"Nothing sir"

"Very well, I'll call again in a week" Boris hung up the phone. Once more he was struck by the nagging feeling that something was wrong. There weren't many ways in which the two boys could mess up the simple task they had been given. It was a simple watch and wait… but why was it that Kendall was the only one home whenever he called? Lando was always… out.

Boris knew Horatio wouldn't want him to go to Japan right now but he needed to know what was going on with the two boys left there. Brooklyn's mother knew too much to just be left unwatched and if something had gone wrong…

Standing Boris marched out of the room, he needed to make preparations to head to Japan right away.

As Boris left the room Hilary gave an angry sigh and opened up the back of the jewellery box, pulling out the large red book she opened it to the message again. Trailing her fingers along the writing she sighed, placing the book back into the box she closed up the false back she put the box back on her dresser before lying down on the bed. Sleep came quickly these days.

--

"Well she's gotten the job" Julia said happily trying to cheer Max up, "we just need for her to find to what's going on in that house."

"I still don't approve of Millie doing this" Max told her "I promised to look after her…"

"Damn it Max, what the hell happened to you? You used to be the guy that was so cheerful I used to want to punch you in the face?" Tala asked getting odd looks from the rest of the people in the room

"I'll take that as a compliment" Max decided raising his eyebrow and staring at the red head confused.

"I wouldn't, Tala…" Julia was cut off as the door to the room swung open crashing into the wall behind it.

"Guys we have a problem" Kenny marched into the room catching everyone's attention

"Why? What's happened?"

"They have camera's in the house" Kenny told them placing his laptop onto the table and opening it up "They had a van out there this weekend, I looked up the company and it's a security systems company. I don't see how Millie can look around the house without getting caught"

"So what… we tell her not to bother?" Max asked hopefully

"Sorry Max, no, we need her in there. I'm trying to find a way around it I've been looking into the company, they never gave specific instructions on how and where to put the cameras up. Of course if we find out where the camera's are we could get Millie to connect us up to the feed from the cameras. Even now Millie is the best person to get into that house and we may yet need her there."

--

Horatio was concerned, recently Hilary had become very introverted, she avoided spending time in her families company and had flat out ignored him the other day when he suggested that they spend some time talking about the past. Normally she jumped at the chance to learn about her past life.

Part of him wished Boris was still around to go on watch at night, during the day Hilary was watched by either himself, Dr K or Voltaire but they all needed to keep to the normal sleep pattern, Hilary expected to see them around but Boris had been flexible, Hilary never really noticed if he was there or not. Boris could be trusted to watch over Hilary and the moment he noticed her doing something too out of the ordinary was likely to tell them.

Of course Boris was right about needing to keep an eye on Ms Masefield. Voltaire's niece had never taken too kindly to what had happened between herself and Martin and there was always a likelihood that she'd try something to bring them down. Brooklyn was another liability, he had sworn vengeance on Boris and if he ever managed to trace Boris's actions back to them it would cause a great many problems. Whatever happened the Tatibana's must not know what he had been up to in the last few years, they needed to believe that he had not returned to his old ways if they discovered the truth then they may become suspicious about where he was now.

Disappearing after his granddaughters 'funeral' had been necessary for Horatio and at first he had kept in touch with a few family members, contacting them to let them know he was still alive. Of course one of those family members had, no doubt, managed to alert MI5 to his position, this meant he had to disappear again. Now he kept in touch with the only person he felt he could trust in his family.

Jake had always been the obedient one, doing what he was told, standing up for the family when people tried to say slanderous things about them (never seeming to care that it was usually true!). Jake was the one member of the family he'd like to pass his entire business on to when he died. When Jake had been informed of his grandfathers past, as all members of the family (asides form Hilary) were at the age of sixteen he had accepted it with a bored shrug. He didn't see any problem with using family for reproductive, power gaining purposes.

It was a shame really, if Hilary's other relations had been more like Jake then there would have been no need to fake her death so dramatically or to put them all through so much pain… oh well it was their own fault!

It was after another meal where Hilary had sat ignoring everyone but little Sammy, Horatio decided that he needed to talk to the girl.

"Hilary… do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong" Hilary said with a shrug not really looking at her grandfather

"Hilary you've been very quiet. I know things are tough here but you need to tell me what's wrong, I'm only concerned for you and your wellbeing" he smiled at her understandingly.

"Yes, but I can't… I don't know what's wrong or right. Grandfather, you'll never lie to me about anything would you?"

"Of course not" still smiling Horatio feigned shock at her sudden question. "You do ask odd questions Hilary"

"So everything you tell me will be the complete truth?"

"Of course." Horatio smiled gently at the young woman in front of him "Tell me, why all these questions? Have you remembered something that doesn't fit in with what we've told you?"

Hilary shook her head, she hadn't really remembered anything, she had found something about some guy from her past but she didn't really have any memories… she couldn't guarantee the dreams she had were real, they were far too dramatic and completely unlikely really. "Grandfather I… I haven't remembered anything, I just… I want to be sure that everything is right. I can't tell what's right and what's real anymore."

"I'll never lie to you Hilary, trust me on that" staring at her grandfather Hilary returned the smile he wore.

"I trust you grandfather"

"Good, now you run along and see Dr Kensall, she wants to do a quick check up"

--

Boris walked into the house where he had assigned Kendall and Lando to keep their watch, looking around the house he could immediately tell that something was wrong, Kendall and Lando were not tidy men but they were not the types to let things get this bad. Old pizza boxes in the kitchen were growing vegetation they had been there so long, dust had settled on the television to the extent that immediately made him suspicious. Kendall liked his TV and took good care of that particular appliance.

The air was musty, if he had to judge he'd say that his employees hadn't been here for sometime. Pulling out his phone Boris dialled the mobile number he had for the boys.

There was a noise behind him, a ringing sound, turning Boris made his way into the kitchen.

There in the centre of the table surrounded by empty fast food boxes was a small, electric blue, phone.

Hanging up Boris noticed that the phone stopped right away, gritting his teeth angrily Boris marched forwards and picked up the phone, he had told them to always keep it with them, they were supposed to have it within reach continually.

The phone in his hand started to ring.

The caller ID showed that the number was unknown

Boris frowned, only he was supposed to have this number, not even phone companies were supposed to have this number.

Deciding that it was a wrong number Boris flipped the phone open and answered

"I think you have the wrong number"

"No…, no I don't..." Boris froze, whoever was on the other end spoke Russian, he also sounded horribly familiar "how've you been Boris?"

"S-Spencer?" he stuttered out

"Got it in one"

Turning Boris made for the door only to discover Spencer a phone to his ear standing in the doorway smirking, behind Spencer stood Ian and Bryan both looking equally pleased with themselves.

The phone dropped from Boris's hand.

"Damn"

--

In their study Horatio and Voltaire sat waiting for Dr K to join them, she had been with Hilary all morning and they were waiting to hear the results of their time together. Both men were hoping for a positive result, when Dr K finally came into the room she didn't look happy.

"We've done a test."

"And?"

"It came up negative. Sorry gentlemen, she's not pregnant." Dr K didn't sound to apologetic as she spoke to the men but if either of them noticed the slight smirk on her face they didn't think it worth mentioning. Brady on the other hand looked at the woman with slight consternation, had she worked it out.

"Do we have any reasons why?" Horatio asked frowning a little

"No, none, luck of the draw I guess. You must remember that only 6 out of 10 attempts of IVF on a fertile woman actually work."

Brady was unaware that he had been holding his breath until Dr K said that.

"I'm tempted to give her some shots before the next attempt, nothing fancy just some fertility drugs. It'll double our chances."

"Very well" Horatio nodded easily "as long as it won't do anything to affect her health."

"Not at all" Dr K shook her head smiling "I've taken another blood test to make sure that she's in good health but for now there is nothing more I can do. We'll have to wait another month or so before we can do anything more."

--

Spencer smirked as Boris was dragged into the room where Kendall and Lando had been tortured only a few weeks before. The room was still in use, every time the phone was due to ring Kendall would be dragged in to talk to Boris. Lando was still rather defiant and if he had been used to talk to Boris he would have undoubtedly talked and the jig would have been up immediately. The older man looked at the three boys whom he had once had the pleasure of making their lives a misery.

"Hello Boris"

"Look, I don't know what you're all thinking of doing"

"That's probably a good thing" Ian told the man and he smiled a particularly evil smile.

Before Boris could say anymore Spencer grabbed the mans hair and wrenched his head back. Boris cried out surprised by the sudden action and was soon dragged into a nearby chair. Looking at the two young men in front of him Boris saw in their eyes the years of pain and torture he had put them through. Behind him his hands were tied to the chair, Spencer made sure that his arms were wrenched back to an incredibly painful position.

"You see, if you knew what we were thinking of doing you'd pass out from the fear of what's about to happen."

"Boys… listen."

"No. You listen" Bryan clutched the mans throat squeezing it "we have all dreamed about this moment for a long time, if you think that you could get us to stop by reasoning with us then you're dumber than you look…"

"And that was a real insult." Ian laughed as Bryan tightened his grip on Boris's throat. Boris strained trying to pull away from the hand holding him, Bryan merely smiled as Boris started to wheeze and the colour drained from his face.

"Let him go" Spencer commanded and Bryan reluctantly released Boris who choked breathing heavily "We don't want to kill him too soon."

"Good point, but now his trachea is suitably damaged he won't be shouting too much." Bryan smirked as Ian pulled a small black case from his pocket. Opening out the case the three persecutors grinned at the gleaming metal instruments, Ian pulled out his favoured tool an extremely tough pair of tweezers. Ian kneeling behind the chair, took hold of Boris's left hand. Knowing what was coming Boris began to whimper and strain against the ropes. Grabbing onto Boris's ring finger Ian kept a tight hold on the mans fingers before gripping the fingernail with his tweezers. Clutching tightly Ian yanked at the tweezers and painfully removed the nail.

Despite the damage that had been done to his throat Boris managed to scream in an incredibly loud manner.

Spencer and Bryan exchanged matching smirks as Ian took hold of a second finger and after waiting for Boris to finish yelling repeated his previous action.

It was going to be a long night.

--

The group still staying at the hotel were getting bored, whilst Millie had to work everyday and had things to do the rest of them had to hang around the town keeping a low profile… not an easy feat for world famous beybladers. They basically spent all their time lounging around the hotel, they made good use of the hotels gym but Kai especially was getting a case of cabin fever.

A born indoors person Kenny was the happiest but that didn't stop his cheerfulness when he got an email that caused him to announce "Millie's been in touch with us! She's due to go to the house tonight, they make the deliveries very late."

"Is there any likelihood that she'll see any of them?" Julia asked her concern for her friend growing.

"Well it's unlikely that Horatio or Voltaire will be there to meet them, they'll send one of their henchmen to deal with the caterers."

"You mean like Boris?" Ray asked nervously

"Boris has seen Millie, we know that" Max argued suddenly "I'm not letting her do it!"

"It's perfectly safe Max, she looks totally different now and…" Renaldo was cut off from explaining why else it was perfectly safe when a ring tone sounded in the room. All eyes turned to the person the tone appeared to be emanating from.

"What is it?" Kai snapped into his phone not even bothering to see who was on the phone.

"_We have big news"_ Spencer told him happily

"I don't have time to…." Kai stopped talking when an agonizing cry could be heard in the background "Spence? Are you ok?"

"_I'm fine, in fact, I'm brilliant, do you remember what we used to dream about when they were forcing us to practice day after day in the abbey and Boris used to hold that cattle prod over us?"_

"Course I…" Kai paused as he heard another scream "Who is that?"

"_Like you need to ask"_

"You have Boris" Everyone in the room with Kai stared at him shocked "How? we thought he was in America?"

"_We've been staking out the house where we picked up Kendall and Lando, we figured he might come to check up on them, the minute he showed up we picked him up!"_

"Is he talking?"

"_Can't seem to stop him" _Spencer sounded amused, the great and powerful Boris had proven very susceptible to torture, odd how the tougher ones are often the first to crack.

"THE CAMERAS," Kenny yelled at the phone suddenly realising how helpful this development could be "Ask him where the cameras are!"

"Did you hear that?" Kai asked, he'd be surprised if they hadn't

"_Yeah, what camera's?"_

"They've set up cameras in the house where we think they have Hilary, we need to know where they're placed."

"_Give us a little time and I'll have full blue prints, pass codes and guard rotations for the place!"_

"No, Millie's going in tonight, we need to know about the cameras now, the rest can wait."

"_I'll call back in ten minutes." _Kai could practically hear the smirk in his friends voice as he hung up. Turning back to the others he smiled feeling better than he had done in ages.

"Well that takes Boris out of the picture, there's no one in the house to recognise Millie now"

"Sorry Max," Kenny said with a shrug "Looks like Millie will soon be good to go."

--

In order to stay in good health Hilary was not supposed to be up and about at this time, she knew that but she was so hungry, she decided that the best thing to do would be to head on down to the kitchens and fix herself something. Making a sandwich… now that was something she remembered how to do!

Making her way through the dark hallways she was surprised when getting to the kitchen she was stoipped by one of her grandfatehrs totally uneccesary (in her eyes) security guards.

"Sorry miss" the man apologised with a small smile "we weren't expecting anyone to be here, the caterers are working in the kitchen. You'll have to head back to your room"

It was odd that the guard was being so forceful on such a simple thing but Hilary was used to overprotective men right now. "Look I just want something to eat. I'll go into the kitchen make a sandwich and go up to my room. No big deal."

The guard sighed rolling his eyes, the amount of times they had been told that they needed to make sure Hilary had no uncertainties about their situation they had never been told how to manage this, if he called her grandfather to deal with it, it would definitely raise some suspicions. "Tell you what, I'll go see if they don't mind you coming in. Wait here"

Exasperated but trying not to show it to his face Hilary nodded and when he left she stood waiting tapping her foot impatiently.

--

None of the other caterers found it odd that they were making deliveries to a house at about one in the morning. Apparently it was common practice for people that couldn't cook and didn't want to admit it to have food delivered late at night.. You found out a lot about the world when working with caterers.

Unfortunately she couldn't see how she could be of any help to their plan here.

All she got to see was the inside of the kitchen and she now knew that there was a camera covering almost the entire kitchen. There were various blind spots around the house but getting to them was impossible from here, the kitchen door was covered and there was a guard outside the door to make sure that they didn't wander. The rest of the staff ensured that she couldn't get up to the camera to disable it in any way or make it so Kenny could connect up to it. She continued working as she thought the problem through, it had been explained that they were unofficial shoppers for the family in the house as well so they stocked up the cupboards at the same time as delivering the prepared meals.

This is why Millie was crouching down by the shelves in the pantry when the guard stormed in snapping.

"You have to leave the kitchen now!"

Immediately everyone nodded and moved to file out…almost everyone. Still out of sight Millie crawled further into the pantry deciding to see for herself what it was that meant they had to leave the kitchen so quickly. It might turn out to be helpful later on.

Hiding herself under one of the shelves Millie held her breath and waited.

* * *

Ok the next chapter might not be up for another month or so, I have exams at the end of May and I really need to study!

Wish me luck and please R&R


	19. Hello?

Hello I am sorry about the long wait and this one is very short but I have a long action filled couple of chapters coming up in early june. I shall return.

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

"Alright Miss Hilary. You can go in now."

"Thank you" Hilary walked into the kitchen closely followed by the guard. "I can make a sandwich by myself you know… I seriously doubt that there's any need for your protecting me here."

"Of course" smiling amiably the guard nodded and walked out of the kitchen.

Rolling her eyes Hilary felt hugely relieved that she was alone, her days were so surrounded by people these days that she felt crowded.

Moving to the fridge she changed her mind, suddenly she really fancied having a bowl of cereal, taking the milk from the fridge she moved to get the cereal from the pantry. Walking across the kitchen Hilary walked into the little cupboard and was about to reach up for the cereal when…

"Hilary?"

Gasping Hilary jumped back from the shelf.

"Who's there?"

"I am" to Hilary's amazement a small young woman crawled out from under the shelves and stood in front of her, the unknown girl muttered out a tearful "Hi…"

"Hi…" Hilary vaguely wondered if she was currently enduring some very bizarre dream where pretty brunettes lived in her larder. "Um… Who are you?"

Tears were falling from the young woman's eyes as she stared at Hilary "I guess that's a valid question… My name is Millie, Millicent, you and I used to be friends."

Hilary frowned "You mean… before the fire?"

"Um… sort of" Millie agreed tentatively

"Sort of…?" Hilary frowned feeling curious "What are you talking about?"

"Hils we don't have much time and I have loads to tell you"

"Hilary" she corrected automatically

"Huh?"

Hilary frowned, she wasn't entirely sure why she had corrected the girl but despite her feeling OK with being called Hils she was conscious of how much her grandfather hated nicknames "You called me Hils, my name is Hilary."

"Right sorry, Hils was a sort of nickname we gave you"

"I kinda guessed but" Hilary tilted her head to the side and looked at the girl in front of her, she didn't look even a little bit familiar but then neither had her grandfather when she first woke up "…who's we?"

"Me and… your old friends…"

"I don't understand, how are you here?"

Deciding to just go the whole hog and explain it all Millie took a deep breath "Hilary, you are in grave danger here, you need to be careful… it's a long story"

"Why would I be in danger? I am with family… unless you are trying to tell me that these people are not my family."

"No they are your family"

Hilary frowned stepping away from Millie trying to understand what was going on, she instantly went on the defensive moving further away from the brunette "Then what right have you to tell me that I'm in danger? Or that I need to be careful?"

"I'm… a friend"

"According to you… I don't even remember you"

"No but…."

"I should call the guard" Hilary's voice raised a little here but the young girl with her suddenly grabbed her sleeve and begged her

"Please don't"

The desperation on Millie's face was obvious, it then struck Hilary that throughout the conversation this girl had seemed completely honest. It was weird, she normally had so much trouble trusting her grandfather and everyone else she had been in contact with since waking up but this girl exuded honesty with every word.

"I won't…. but I probably should" Hilary said smiling lightly, as weird as it was she trusted this girl and didn't want her in any trouble, she paused unsure of what to say, "do you…um…. Do you want to come further into the kitchen?"

"I can't, the security cameras would see me and…"

"Security cameras?" Hilary turned to look around the kitchen a suspicious look on her face.

"Yes…" Millie nodded thinking hard "there should be one in the top left hand corner of the kitchen, behind the clock, it covers the whole room but this is a blind spot."

"I'm not sure that I believe you"

"Fine, but when you go back to your room look around the window, there's a pelmet there… that thing hides another one."

"You seem to know a lot about it"

"I have a friend who… spoke to Boris about it. Look I wish I could talk to you more but if you don't leave soon then someone will come and catch us. I wish I could show you a photo, I used to have one of us and our friends in my wallet but I had to leave it at home. Of course I look a little different now… but the main thing is I didn't want to risk being discovered."

"By who? Who are you so afraid of?"

"Horatio, Voltaire. Look what I'm about to say will freak you out but I have to say it. There was no fire, your amnesia wasn't accidental, you have friends that are desperate to try get you out and I'm one of them."

"I don't know whether or not I should believe you"

"Did you ever wonder why none of your friends came to visit?"

"Grandfather said it was too far" Hilary vividly remembered that response 'Hilary, we live too far from all your friends here. When you are better, stronger, we will take you to see them all… alright?' he smiled at her and Hilary had merely nodded agreeing 'Anything you say grandfather.'

"What about…." Millie wanted to say Kai but instead settled for asking "Your other family, do you remember them?"

"I thought there was none left, none but Brady, Sammy and Samantha"

"Hils about Brady…"

"Are you almost done Miss Hilary?"

"One second!" Hilary grabbed the cereal from the shelf and marched over to the cupboard to get a bowl. Quickly pouring herself a some cereal and throwing a spoon into the bowl Hilary then carried the box back to the Larder, "I'd better go, I just have so many questions for you."

"Me too, everyone's going to be thrilled when I tell them that you're really OK." The young girl really seemed thrilled, she couldn't stop grinning.

"Will you be able to come back soon?" Hilary asked sounding a little desperate, she craved the culture and company of people her own age. It was odd but she really wanted to see this girl again, she needed information about herself and this girl could give it to her.

"Sure… I'll be back as soon as I can. Just keep your eyes open and be careful." Unable to help herself Millie leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the taller girls neck "We'll come back for you, I promise."

"I don't know why but…" Hilary disengaged herself from the other girls arms "I think I believe you."

--

Still unsure about whether or not what was happening was real Hilary left the kitchen carrying her bowl of cereal. She had no memories of a girl called Millie but she didn't really know if she had any memories of anything at all. Why hadn't she asked if the girl knew someone called Kai? That would have been more helpful instead of standing around asking pointless questions.

Shaking her head Hilary entered her room and sat down in the middle of her bed with her cereal.

She couldn't believe that her grandfather was responsible for her amnesia though, he was too good to her and he was trying to bring it back, she had the best medical help and… frowning again she turned to look over her shoulder at the window, the deep blue curtains were closed under the lighter blue pelmet. How had that girl even known there was a pelmet there? Not all curtains had to have them, turning back Hilary continued to eat her midnight snack. Some people would probably find what she did a little odd, that she enjoyed a bowl of cereal at this time of night, Mariah had always teased her about it. Still she enjoyed eating cereal like this. It was odd how many silly cravings and quirks she had.

Placing the bowl down beside her Hilary climbed off the bed, walking around to the window she pondered how she could look for a camera without being seen by the camera. Once she stood at the window she opened the curtains and stood pretending to look out at the view. After a minute or so she allowed her head to tilt back and raising her eyes to the top of the window she saw it.

A camera.

Trembling she closed the curtains and moved back into the room to finish her cereal.

Someone had set up a camera in her room and was watching her all the time

She felt sick.

She needed to leave here… but how could she leave her family, for all she knew the cameras might be for her protection, she had collapsed several times recently.

Shaking her head she decided to sleep on it.

Placing her bowl on her bedside table she slid into bed and covered herself with the duvet. Perhaps in the morning she could ask her grandfather some questions.

--

"You saw her?"

"Yeah" Millie looked around at the crowd of friends, they were all staring at her listening avidly to what she had to say. Max sat beside her holding her protectively despite her safe return he was still worried about her. He didn't want her going back into that house again.

"How did she look?" Kai asked, for the first time in ages there was actually a small smile playing on his lips

"She looked good" Millie smiled as she thought about it "Her hairs longer and she doesn't seem unhappy… just lonely."

"Did you tell her what her grandfather plans to do with her?" Tyson asked eagerly

"No" Millie shook her head "How could I? There was barely enough time to talk to her at all, if she had decided that I was just some crazy weirdo she could have called the guard and god knows where I'd be right now"

"No you did the right thing" Tala nodded sagely, "we need to proceed with great caution but at least we now know some more of what's going on. We know some of what they've told Hilary but we also know that she seems to trust Millie and she wants to know about who she is"

"We need her out of there before it's too late" Kai stated briefly "We have all the information we need from Boris. Renaldo how soon can we get in there?"

"I'll be ready with a van by tomorrow evening but I'll need a few other things… give me two days."

"Good, we'll plan everything we need to and be ready the minute you are"

"So this is it?" Tyson asked sounding excited "we're getting her back."

"Yes we are." Kai agreed smirking "Nothing will stand in my way"

* * *

A bit short I know but I have already started on action and reunion scenes coming up!

R&R


	20. Plans in motion

Once more I apologise for this chapter, I'm having trouble writing right now and this one seems a little slow!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

"So this is a layout of the grounds" Tala informed everyone as they all looked at layout pictures they had received with help from Boris. He sat with the Blade breakers, Millie Julia and Renaldo trying to think up the simplest and most effective plan "As far as we know Hilary's bedroom is here, in order to get to it we'll need to get through this place as undetected as possible."

"Where's the best point of entry to the grounds?" Julia asked studying the layout carefully

"There's a side entrance here" Kai pointed to the gateway "It brings us into the grounds, it's the same one that the caterers use."

"Then you're under scrutiny from armed guards stationed here and here" Millie pointed "they were there when I was in there. I don't know if they were there because we were or if they were always there."

"We'll need to take them out then" Kai sighed frowning, it would be difficult to do without raising a full scale alarm.

"Maybe not" Millie told him "If we wait one more day we could arrive as the caterers."

"You mean take their place?" Julia asked frowning

"Yeah" Mille nodded smiling "We'd be noticed when we got in there but we might be able to get through the gates without issue."

"That's a good idea" Renaldo agreed

"But the catering van is slow, obvious, we'd need to change vans but we could easily park the van I've arranged outside the walls we could transfer to the other van as soon as we have Hilary out of there."

"And Brady" Millie said decidedly "I know you guys have a bit of a score to settle with him but he does have a wife and child in there with him. We can't just leave them behind."

"We won't" Kai agreed, "We'll make sure to get them out to, asides from anything else if Hilary is at all like the old one she won't leave them behind"

"We'll have to contact the others" Tala spoke decidedly "Tell Bryan what's going on. He's the one with the biggest axe to grind."

"You call him" Kai commanded "try to make him…"

"I know, I'll make sure he doesn't act too badly."

"We ought to contact Jake and his team." Ray recommended "He'll be able to help us with all this and if we can send Brady and his family to him, it might make things easier for us in the long run."

"Well Brady probably knows more about Horatio's illegal activities, it would help Jake out." Max agreed "I've still got Jake's contact details. I'll call him."

"Good" Renaldo nodded "I'll get on with gathering the thing's we'll need, I want everyone to acquaint themselves with the positions of cameras throughout the house, the more time we can move through the house undetected the better off we'll be. Millie you show everyone the route the caterers use to get to the kitchens, maybe there's a way around the house that we can use. Kai, you'll have to sort out the travel details, we'll need to be able to travel the minute we leave the house."

"No problem, there's nothing else we can do until then," Kai shrugged lightly

"Right lets get to work."

Everyone started filing out of the room leaving only two people still standing in Kai's bedroom.

Silently staring out the window Kai waited, nothing was said so finally he turned "What do you want?"

"Kai" Millie looked directly at him as she spoke "You've got to remember that this isn't the Hilary we know, she didn't ask about any of us specifically"

"I know" he frowned fiercely but Millie wasn't going to be scared off.

"Kai you have to listen to me for a second. I know what you want to happen when you see her again, you're hoping for her to recognise you, for something to happen that means she knows you and what you are to her."

Sighing Kai nodded "I do not deny that some part of me hopes…" he smiled briefly at Millie "I know it's not likely."

"I've been reading up on amnesia and judging by the way she acted when I saw her I think we need to slowly tell her what she needs to know, if she asks us then we must be totally honest or we'll lose her trust entirely so…, we will tell her about the two of you, it's important that we do… eventually."

"Basically You're telling me to just wait."

"Kai." Millie paused before answering "I'm telling you not to tell her straight away. It'll be a short while before she trusts us enough to believe us. When she does then we can tell her."

"I've managed without her for sometime, I think I can last a little longer"

"It'll be harder when she's around. I think it might be good for you to avoid her for a while unless you can just… well if you act like… if you can be…"

"Be my usual self?" he interrupted smirking.

Millie laughed nodding "I'm afraid so"

"I'll manage, somehow"

"Alright…" Millie nodded slowly before turning and walking towards the doorway, once there she stopped to turn back to Kai saying "and… don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this… me ordering you around"

Kai nodded "Don't worry, no one would believe you anyway"

Holding in her laughter Millie left the room, if she had spoken to Kai like that before he would have dismissed her in the rudest manner possible but since discovering that Hilary was alive he was becoming a lot more easy to deal with.

--

Sitting in her room Hilary decided that enough was enough. She wanted answers about her past, she wanted the truth. The past few nights her dreams had revolved around a pair of intense grey eyes and a large red bird surrounded by fire. She didn't understand why this was important or why she felt it attached her to him, that name, Kai.

Standing she walked towards the window staring out of it before raising her suspicious eyes to where the camera was hidden.

Recently she'd been keeping her eyes open for any other cameras in the house or evidence of her family watching her. As it was she'd noticed nothing.

Samantha and Brady were as friendly and yet secretive as ever.

Sammy was cute and innocent but she had hardly expected a child to be in on any big secrets in the house.

Dr Kensall was open and friendly, she had been speaking about vitamin supplements that may help stimulate certain memories… the weird thing was that Hilary felt that that was wrong somehow. Somewhere deep in her psyche she knew that vitamin supplements shouldn't do that.

Voltaire was creepy as ever, as far as she knew he had never returned to her room to watch her but now there were cameras watching her every move she wasn't sure that he wasn't watching her in some way.

Her grandfather was lovely, he'd been giving her driving lessons around the estate and she'd loved every minute of it. She felt comfortable behind the wheel of a car, part of her had remembered some of what she needed to do before she had been told. Still she needed to know, she needed to know everything.

She'd ask him tonight, after dinner.

--

"How long do we have to wait?" Kai asked as Millie drove along the roads taking them along to the catering company.

"Well we need to get rid of the usual crew before we think about anything else" Millie told him "but…. the deliveries start at about midnight so if you're quick about twenty minutes. We were out of there by about one but we were interrupted. I think they expect the caterers to take forty five minutes."

"So we'll have about three quarters of an hour to work before someone gets suspicious as to why the vans still there?"

"Pretty much"

"That's not a lot of time." Tyson said quietly

"We're more likely to be spotted by cameras or run into someone before the times up."

Tala frowned as he stared out the window "Quit being so pessimistic. We've got this thing sorted. Renaldo and Max will be waiting outside the grounds with the van to take us to the airport. Kenny's with them and will have access to the camera's he should be able to get them set up on a loop."

"I know" Millie nodded, the plan was practically perfect. She, Kai, Tala and Tyson would get in under the guise of caterers using the van as cover, Kenny would set up the cameras on a loop. They'd find Hilary, Brady and the others and get them into the catering van, once outside the grounds they'd meet up with Renaldo and Max in the van and travel to the airport where Julia was waiting with Kai's pilot and plane. "How we gonna get rid of the caterers? You're not gonna hurt them right?"

"No, we'll settle them with a little chloroform" Tala reassured her "We aren't starting to hurt people till we get inside the house."

"Suddenly I feel so much better" Millie muttered concentrating on the parking lot as she moved her car smoothly into it's parking spot.

Keeping his head down Kai watched as he, Tyson and Tala walked in behind Millie. Millie herself nodded to the people she knew, she went to talk to her boss taking him into the office and discussing her reason for being late to distract him. As soon as they were out of the room he and Tala got to work, there were exactly three people on duty to go with Millie into the house, they were loading food into a large van with the company's logo. Walking up behind the closest one Kai took hold of his cloth covered in chloroform and as soon as he was close enough he slid one arm around the mans arms and the hand holding the cloth over his mouth. The man struggled but his arms were securely held by Kai and the struggle was pointless and soon the fight went out of him and he dropped to the floor. Tala walked forward quickly helping to store the unconscious man in the van.

All this time Tyson kept watch checking on Millie and her boss every few seconds before looking around to check that no one else was coming

They managed it quickly and then stood back waiting for the final two men that they needed to dispose of. They didn't have to wait long as the two arrived carrying trays of food and talking easily. They walked to place the tray into the van and then realised that their co-worker inside was unconscious.

A simple "What the?" was all either of them managed to mutter before Tala and Kai had moved forward and repeating the same movement that Kai did the first time and knocked them out.

Once again the unconscious men were placed in the back and just in time as Tyson began signalling to them that Millie was on her way out. As Millie exited the office they all exchanged a speaking look and immediately she knew that the job had started. Kai and Tala jumped into the back pulling the doors closed behind them, Tyson ran to the passenbger seat and jumped in keeping one of the caterers caps low on his head, Millie rushed around to the front seat starting the engine and driving the vehicle out through the doors she crossed her fingers praying that everything would work.

If it did in just under an hour they'd have Hilary with them and they'd be driving to the airport

--

"Do you have a minute Grandfather?" Hilary asked moving into his study with a nervous smile on her face

"For you I have all the time in the world." He told her indicating the chair opposite his "What is it that you want?"

"Well… I was just thinking…" Hilary paused as she sat on the chair drawing her legs up towards her chest. "I want to ask…"

Horatio nodded patiently waiting for her to continue, when she didn't he leaned forward urging "Hilary what is it you want to talk about?"

"Did I ever know anyone called Kai?"

Horatio was stunned, of all the questions he had been expecting from his granddaughter that had not been one of them. "Kai?"

"Yes Kai?"

"I don't understand where you got that name" Horatio frowned down at her "Who told you that name?"

"No one, I just… remember it" she lied trying to work out why her grandfather looked quite so uncomfortable.

"Well I'm sorry to say that I don't know of any Kai" Horatio smiled reassuringly "when you first said the name it sounded familiar but now I'm not so sure, In fact." He paused apparently thinking the whole thing through "No, I'm sure you never knew anyone called Kai. Sorry Hilary"

"Right"

"By the way I was rather hoping that you would spend some time with Dr Kensall, after all she is here to help you."

"Oh Ok" Hilary nodded "I'll go see her in a bit."

The minute Hilary had left the room Horatio pressed a button on the intercom going straight to Dr K's room, the minute the doctor picked up on her end he hissed "Listen she's remembered something. Someone. I want the memory serum back into her tonight."

"_I don't know if that's a good idea. We need to discover why she remembered anything."_

"I don't give a damn what you think or think you know I'm in charge here. I want her memories wiped again. Do it." as soon as this was done Horatio contacted Voltaire "She's remembering"

"_How much?"_

"I don't know but she asked about Kai. We need Boris back."

"_I haven't heard anything from in days"_

"Where'd he go?"

"_Japan he's checking on Kendall and Lando. I'll call him straight away."_

"Do that, and get Dr Wingblade we need him back, he has some questions to answer." swearing violently Horatio moved away from the desk and began to look through the papers he had received from the doctor about the memory serum.

Something had gone wrong, really wrong.

--

One sleeved rolled up her arm Hilary sat talking with Dr K as the woman measured out an amount of substance.

"I mean I guess I just thought that Kai must have been someone I knew."

"I know what you mean. What did your grandfather say exactly?"

"That I'd never known anyone called Kai." Hilary frowned unhappily, her aunt had definitely told her that she knew a Kai, she had even encouraged her to think about him. "Can this ait a second?" Hilary jumped out of her seat and walked over to the doorway "I really need to go check something."

"No!" Dr Kensall grabbed Hilary's arm and held her in place "We need to do this now."

"It's just vitamin shot" Hilary argued surprised at the angry look on her doctors face.

"We need to do it now"

"You're hurting me" suddenly the doctors eyes changed and fearful Hilary wrenched her arm away and began to move back from the doctor. "What the hell is going on?"

"Lets get this done" Dr K argued moving quickly forward and taking hold of Hilary's arm. Hilary fought back pulling away and trying to make for the door but in her haste she tripped over a chair and fell crashing to the floor. Before she could do anything else Dr K was on top of her holding her arm straight and plunging the needle into the first available vein.

* * *

Please R&R


	21. Rescue Party

I do not own Beyblade

Ok folks, you better love this because I should have revised last night but I was suddenly inspired and I may be away for a while after this one… hopefully its got enough to keep you happy for a week of two.

* * *

_Previously in things have changed…._

"_No!" Dr Kensal grabbed Hilary's arm and held her in place "We need to do this now."_

"_It's just vitamin shot" Hilary argued surprised at the angry look on her doctors face._

"_We need to do it now"_

"_You're hurting me" suddenly the doctors eyes changed and fearful Hilary wrenched her arm away and began to move back from the doctor. "What the hell is going on?"_

"_Lets get this done" Dr K argued moving quickly forward and taking hold of Hilary's arm. Hilary fought back pulling away and trying to make for the door but in her haste she tripped over a chair and fell crashing to the floor. Before she could do anything else Dr K was on top of her holding her arm straight and plunging the needle into the first available vein._

_And now…_

--

"What the hell are you doing?" Hilary screamed as Dr K removed the needle from her arm "Dr Kensal I demand an answer"

"I suppose that I can tell you" Dr K said with a smile as she stood and moved away from her victim "After all in just under half an hour you won't remember a thing, in about twenty minutes the serum will soon arrive at the hippocampus and begin wiping your memory clean again."

"Half an hour?" Hilary asked her eyes wide with fear

"Your amnesia is not accidental, it was induced by Dr Wingblade" Dr K explained "And I'm not Dr Kensal, you used to know me as Dr K… I almost killed you once… admittedly it was an accident"

"Then she was right" Hilary whispered nervously "I'm in danger here"

"Who was right?" Dr K asked advancing towards her "Tell me who's been talking to you"

"I won't tell you a thing" Hilary snapped backing away but as she moved Dr K moved forward to grab her again, taking hold of her shoulders Dr K shook Hilary violently.

"Tell me who was talking to you."

--

Leading Tyson around the back of the van Millie was very conscious of the guards focus on them, she had known the passwords and codes to get them in and now they were parked in the garage she had driven into the first time. They had unloaded the unconscious workers out at a nearby hospital knowing that by the time the men awoke and anyone worked out something was going on they'd be out of the country. She had been the one to insist on leaving the men somewhere safe, Kai had mentioned just leaving them at the house but knowing how ruthless Horatio and Voltaire could be she hadn't wanted to put them in any danger. She and Tyson opened the van and with Tala's help began unloading the food trays, they had discussed exactly where everything should go when they had planned the trip. Kai remained in the van setting up a computer link with Kenny, he opened up a laptop and followed the strict instructions he had received from Kenny.

The laptop switched on easily enough but as he tried to connect to Kenny's computer the screen brought up a grey box with a confusing message.

Sighing Kai climbed out of the van and indicated to Millie that there was a problem. The plan had been to keep Millie in view the whole time as she was the only member of the group that the guards should recognise and therefore create less suspicion, still the guards hadn't really noticed any changes, they didn't usually communicate much with the caterers considering mere cooks beneath themselves.

Sitting in the van Millie was quickly able to bypass the problem and set up a link with Kenny, once he had a link inside the house he should be able to communicate with them as they moved around the house. He had managed to set up a heat seeking device that should tell where people were and was going to try and help escort them safely undetected around the grounds.

"We're online" Millie hissed as she rejoined the boys, Kai nodded and slowly he and Tala walked towards the doorway carrying a tray of food. As soon as they were mere inches from the two guards they both 'tripped' sending the food flying towards the guards. Confused the guards made to catch the trays and didn't notice as the two men directed swinging punches towards their jaws.

"Put these in your ears" Millie handed out communication devices as Tyson and Tala secured the guards and Kai removed the last of the food from the van. They needed all the space they could get as they estimated leaving the place with at least four more people.

As soon as they were done Millie raised her hand to her ear pressing her device closer "You hearing us Kenny?"

"_Loud and clear" _Kenny's voice came through perfectly clearly without any type of static Tala nodded in satisfied way, they had been worried that the radios would be hard to understand.

"Everyone hear that?" Mille asked and received nods "Ok Kenny where we headed to first?"

"_Ok, your best bet is going to be to avoid the kitchens entirely, unfortunately there's a heat signature near the door to the corridors. I think there may be a guard there."_

"I got it" Kai hissed moving over to the doorway, the others moved to the other side of the doorway ready in case Kai needed help. Pulling his caterers cap low Kai moved to the door and opened it walking casually through, immediately there was a shout, "Hey You!" Kai turned immediately apologising and properly flustered, as soon as the guy was close enough, Kai launched himself at the guard. He punched the jaw line, the guard fell back against the wall confused but conscious. He reached for his radio but before he could reach it Kai wrenched his arm back, the guard managed to get in a quick blow at Kai's gut winding him momentarily.

As soon as Kai was knocked away the guard again made to call for help, seeing this Tyson launched himself through the doorway landing bodily on the guard restricting his movement. With a couple of rapid punches Tyson managed to knock the guard unconscious.

"Thanks" Kai muttered as together the two of them dragged the unconscious guard into the garage.

"No problem" Tyson responded easily before leaning down to secure the guard and dump him with the rest "How many guards do we think he has Kenny?" he asked as they moved out into the hallway.

"_You guys don't wanna know… there are a lot of heat signatures around… there isn't one in Hilary's room though!" _Kenny obviously sounded panicked _"Damn, Boris said she usually went to her room at this time of night."_

"We need to find her, it's pointless moving through this house if we don't know where she is…"

"_Guys, behind you there's someone…" _Kenny's yell came a moment too late as the person he was about to warn them of walked around the corner.

Spinning around the small group came face to face with someone they all recognised "You!" Kai's expostulation coincided with Tala's as the two men stared angrily at the newcomer.

"It's been a while Kai"

"Brady" Kai snarled

There was a pause as they all stared at each other, Brady nodded his head acknowledging to the others "Tala, Tyson…"

"Millie" the young girl supplied

"Oh…. You look… different"

"Yeah… that was kind of the plan"

"Why are you here?" he asked looking at them suspiciously trying to gauge what their reaction would be when they discovered what he knew.

"That's not important… where's Hilary" Kai asked, Brady moved back surprised by this statement

"Then… you know?"

"Of course…" Kai stared at him angrily "Why else would we be here?"

"To kill Voltaire… Horatio… Boris…. Me." Brady gave them a weak smile

"He's got a point" Tala pointed out, beside him both Tyson and Kai nodded in agreement

"Well the point is, we're not here to do that. We're here for her…. And you"

"Me?" Brady stared at them confused "What did I do?"

"You mean asides from trying to kill most of us?" Kai asked smirking as Brady's face went from fearful to terrified.

"Kai" Millie hissed warningly "Look Brady we know about your wife and Kid, Hils explained at the time, we're going to help you and them out of here."

"But first we need to find Hilary" Tyson jumped in "Do you know where she could be?"

"She's usually in her room around now"

"_Still no heat signature"_ Kenny's voice informed them

"Well she's not there."

"How do you…?"

"Kenny's locked onto heat signatures look we don't have time to explain everything we need to find Hilary. We had hoped to find her in her room, our plan kinda revolved around that." Tala shook his head sighing

"I guess, having a plan that goes off without a hitch just wouldn't be following tradition would it?" Tyson asked with a small smile

"Nah we do it the Scooby way!" Tala responded with a matching smile "Plan it all out, have someone somewhere screw it up and yet somehow we always come out golden! The pattern isn't going to change this time."

"She sometimes visits her grandfather in his study"

"You hear that Kenny?" Millie pressed her fingers to her ear piece trying to amplify the sound.

"_Yeah but there's no one in the study right now"_

"Next idea?" Kai hissed at Brady

"Dr K's office could be good."

"Kenny?"

"_There are two signatures in there but…. One of them's leaving, in a hurry too!"_

"Lets head that way… should we split up?"

"No, we stay together"

--

"Tell me" Dr K snapped her palm connected with Hilary's face in a painful slap

"No" she tried to struggle against the older woman but Dr K managed to twist Hilary's arm around behind her back holding it painfully

""Tell me or I'll break your arm

"Alright, I'll tell you who was talking to me!" Hilary pulled away from her doctor who released her with a happy smile

"Very good, who spoke to you"

"Her name was Millie, she came in with the caterers"

"The caterers…" Dr K moved towards her desk "Aren't they due back toni…" Her sentence was cut off as Hilary made for the door once more. Running at the young girl she tackled her to the ground knocking one of the stools over in the process and crashing it under Hilary's head. The two women wrestled briefly on the floor until Hilary trapped beneath the dark haired doctor managed to manoeuvre her leg to kick directly at her hip throwing the doctor backward.

After landing on the floor Dr K struggled to her feet and grabbing on of the needles from the work surface advanced on Hilary still lying on the smooth floor nursing her head. Hissing an insult Dr K made to grab Hilary's arm but before she could Hilary grabbed the stool lying behind her, swinging it around the hard metal crashed onto Dr K's head knocking her unconscious.

Breathing heavily Hilary pushed herself away from the unconscious body, standing she couldn't resist the urge to bend down and check the woman's pulse… she was still alive… thank goodness.

Turning she made for the doorway, opening it she checked both ways before setting off at a run through the house, she had no idea where she was going but she knew she needed to get out of here.

--

He had been shocked when his friend had called him earlier to tell him that Hilary was remembering but Voltaire took it in his stride. He was prepared for anything… or so he had thought. He had not been expecting to get no response from Boris, he had not been expecting to get no response from Kendall or Lando.

Something had gone very wrong.

Knowing that Horatio would have immediately commanded that Hilary undergo the effects of the serum he headed to Dr K's office. Pacing quickly down the hallways he found the doctors room and knocked on the door.

No answer.

This was the third time this evening that he had received no response from someone he expected an immediate answer from.

Opening the door he moved into the room, his gaze swept over the room, the mess in the centre of the floor grabbed his attention immediately. Walking around the table he found Dr K's prone body still lying on the floor. Looking around his eyes immediately picked up on the empty serum needle, the mess, the stool, there was only one explanation.

Something had gone very wrong

Turning he ran from the room.

--

"The person who was running, where are they?"

"_They've stopped… if you turn left they're just down the corridor and the on your…. Wait… there's someone else there, just around the corner… there's someone in between the two of you… given the way he's walking I'd say he's a guard, he's on a pattern… headed your way. Guys you better go back…"_

"No" Brady hissed turning down the corridor and knocking at a door, it opened immediately and a blonde woman came out

"Brady what's…?"

"In here" Brady commanded shepherding everyone into the room, the blonde woman moved back allowing them in a confused look on her face. The small group rushed into the room. A small child was seated on the floor playing with a toy, upon seeing the newcomers he stood and gazed at them curiously.

"What's going on?" Samantha managed to get out as soon as the door was shut

"Sam… meet Kai, Tala, Tyson and Millie… they're…"

"Hilary's friends…" Samantha smirked as she looked at them "I guess Horatio and Voltaire were right to be afraid of you lot."

"Ssh" Brady hissed listening at the door, "I can't tell if he's still out there"

"I can" Millie responded "Kenny?"

"_He's rounding the corner… now"_

"Lets go." Kai turned to look at the woman "Look you and the kid get ready, we'll be picking you up on the way back."

"What…?" Samantha began to ask but Kai cut her off.

"You want to stay here?" There was a quick shake of the head as a response "Good, now, do you know where Hilary might be?"

"I'd normally say in her room at this time but… I know Dr K was planning on seeing her at some point soon."

"Then we were probably headed the right way, we'll find her. Brady your with us."

After brief nods of goodbyes the group left the room and began their way back down the corridor. The group of five moved down the corridors following Kenny's tersely worded instructions heading towards Dr K's office. On the way (according to Kenny) they were going to pass the person who had been running from the office.

"Well maybe we want to."

As Tala spoke those words a figure rounded the corner, the person stopped, the rescue party stopped.

"Voltaire"

* * *

Man I'm really stringing this out aren't I? I may update sooner than I think but just keep your fingers crossed for me.

Please R&R


	22. The rescue

Man my back and eyes are killing, I was up late last night finishing this off but I really felt kinda bad about leaving the last chapter like I did.

I do not own Beyblade

-

* * *

"Kai" Voltaire was surprised to see his grandson but he schooled his face into an expression of light amusement as he looked at the group. The last time he had seen his grandson face to face he had towered over the boy but now Kai stood a few inches taller than him, their eyes met and the hatred his grandson exuded was not at all missable.

Kai was angry, Voltaire was standing in front of him, strong, tall, almost filling the hallway with his person. He had hoped that his time in jail would have caused Voltaire to become weaker, older, he had wanted him to seem pathetic but somehow he was still the strong, broad shouldered man he had always been and he still managed to instill some fear into the younger Hiwatari.

Tala could sense the anger coming from Kai and knew that it was unlikely that he would be able to think clearly for a little while so moving to stand directly beside his friend he asked "Where is she?"

Voltaire looked at Tala with the same amusement, again the tables had tuned since they had last seen each other and Tala stood at about the same height as his grandson. He allowed his eyes to flicker over the group, a young girl he didn't recognize, a taller more mature Tyson and Brady.

"What do you think you are doing Brady?" Voltaire asked totally ignoring everyone else

"The right thing" Brady responded "Hilary deserves to be with people she actually cares about and, who care about her, not people that lie constantly"

"You are aware that you have done your fair share of lying?" Voltaire asked clasping his hands behind his back like a stern teacher as he stared at the man.

"I had no choice."

"People always have a choice" Voltaire suddenly brought his hands back around in front of him but this time they were not empty, in his right hand he held a small black revolver that gleamed in the light of the hallway. "Move, and I shoot."

There was nothing they could do, Voltaire was too far away to disarm him without at least one of them being hurt, in fact he could probably fire off at least two shots before an attacker even got close. With one hand Tyson pulled Millie's wrist, slowly he moved her back to stand directly behind him, he didn't know what was going to happen but he'd made a promise to two people that were very dear to him and he was going to protect her as best he could. Kai's fists clenched in anger, he should have run forward and hit the guy the minute he had seen him, Brady, and Tala stood watching and waiting wishing the exact same thing as Kai but there was nothing any of them could do.

Unfortunately a gun was not the only thing Voltaire was holding that could cause them a lot of trouble. In his left hand he held a small radio, smirking at their discomfort he raised the radio to his mouth and pressed the button on the side.

"Horatio, we have a problem"

A shout came from behind Voltaire and as the man turned Kai ran at him.

Voltaire spun around gun in hand ready to shoot but what he saw behind him shocked him greatly.

Hilary lifted up the jewelry box she had received from her grandfather and brought it crashing down onto Voltaire's head.

Raising his arm Voltaire tried to deflect the blow but the heavy silver box hit his right temple and sent him crashing to the ground.

There was silence.

Hilary stared down at the body before raising her eyes to look at the others in the hallway.

There was more silence.

Kai stared at the brunette clutching a silver jewelry box, slowly she looked up and their eyes met.

"Hilary?" he whispered smiling at her.

"Yes" still looking fearful she nodded in acknowledgment of her name, her fear abated slightly as she stared into a pair of soft grey eyes whose colour reminded her of a stormy sky.

Behind Kai the rest of the group watched in silence, Millie lifted a hand to her mouth as she smiled at the reunion, Tyson's eyes filled with happy tears that he was determined wouldn't fall, Tala smiled wider than he could ever remember smiling whilst Brady could barely contain his happiness that finally everything was going to be alright.

"I… hi" Kai muttered still staring at her

"Hi" she replied smiling a little "I guess…"

All around them alarms began to go off, shouts could be heard from various places as the group looked fearfully around them.

"We have to go" Kai said holding out a hand to Hilary "Come with us"

There was a flash of hesitation in Hilary's eyes as she looked down at the pale work worn hand in front of her. She wanted to trust them, in fact a part of her did but there was still a small part of her that didn't "I'll come" she whispered "But… you have to promise that my family leave with me, my cousin, aunt and uncle" she looked at Brady standing with the group "And I don't want to be a prisoner again"

"Not a problem" Kai told her with a smile, his voice was soft and coaxing in a way the others hadn't heard before but to Hilary it struck a chord, it made her trust him "We can manage that."

After another second or two of hesitation Hilary reached forward and placed her hand in his.

Their eyes met again briefly as Kai looked lovingly down at her but, in the next second, he had turned and running began to lead her down the hallway. The others turned before they had reached them and all began to sprint back the way they had come. As they ran Millie lifted her hand to her ear whispering "We're on our way, we've got her."

There was no response

"Guys, we've lost the link with Kenny"

"They must have shut down all signals inside the grounds" Brady informed her "I'll bet that they haven't had time to look for anyone outside, they'll be concentrating on not letting us leave."

As soon as they had picked up Sam and Sammy the group made their way quickly back to the garage where they had left their getaway van.

"Do you now how to get out of here?" Samantha demanded to know as they all climbed into the food truck.

"Well I figured we'd go out the way we came in" Tala responded wondering why he managed to draw mouthy women to him.

"Which way was that?"

"That small gate to the left of the main Driveway"

"That's not a good way to go" Samantha shook her head thinking "They'll know you came that way and they'll be guarding it, it's an easy one to keep an eye on the weakest point of exit is nearer to the greenhouses."

"We have a van parked by that gate, a better one than this, faster, bullet proof as well."

"Then we need to move fast, now either let me drive or I'm not coming with you" she announced Tala glanced at Kai in the passenger seat, they exchanged an agonized glace then simultaneously nodded.

"Fine" Kai hissed not even trying to hide his displeasure

Tala allowed Samantha to get into the driver seat placing Hilary in the front with Kai and Samantha then opening the back door again he jumped in beside Tyson.

"Everyone better be buckled in cos we're going to have to go through the garage door, when the alarms go off the doors automatically lock" Samantha told them, She started the engine and glancing back to check everyone was ready she slammed her foot down and they van shot forward, there was a smash of glass and an angry squealing sound as they broke though the door but they were in one piece. Once outside the garage they stopped.

Looking at Samantha Kai was about to say something about it being lucky the windscreen didn't break when he noticed her expression. Frowning Kai looked out the front window and was shocked by what met his eyes.

Outside there was a large semicircle of cars and motorbikes blocking their escape, standing behind this barricade Kai counted at least thirty men all armed with guns and aiming them right at them. Floodlights were set up lighting the area, Kai gave an annoyed grunt, they must have known they were using this van as a cover for a while in order to have time to set this up! There were more men here than Boris had accounted for, Horatio must have increased the guard mere hours ago.

"Holy Shit" Tala muttered as he looked around "what now?"

They were stopped from saying anything as Horatio came out from behind the barricade, he walked in between the space between the two cars dead ahead of them and once he was through he lifted up a hand. The guns dropped and the men waiting seemed to take a step back.

"What's he doing?" Tyson asked

"I don't know, but lets all ask each other that's bound to help" an angry Kai shot back

"Move Sam, get in the back" Hilary and her aunt switched places "You too" she turned to look at Kai, "they won't hurt me, they need me unharmed."

Obstinate a s ever Kai shook his head refusing to move, she didn't argue merely staring thinking hard. Sitting at the steering wheel Hilary did nothing and no one suggested that she do anything after all who knew what would be the catalyst to start all those guns firing at them the van would break pretty easily. For the moment they were safe, as they sat waiting for something, anything to happen Hilary noticed that her grandfather was reaching a hand in his pocket. He pulled out something but they were too far away to see what it was.

He did something then held the object up to his ear "I think it must be a phone" Hilary whispered

Everyone searched their pockets "Oh damn it" Tyson smacked his palm against his forehead, "looks like he got mine, I must have dropped it"

"What's he doing with it though?" Tala asked, at almost exactly the same moment Kai's phone began to ring, they all exchanged looks, finally Kai answered the phone and raised it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"_I wish to speak to my granddaughter"_

"Tough shit!"

Horatio made a signal to someone behind him, immediately a person holding a gun stood up and a red dot appeared on Kai's chest _"Let me speak to her now!"_

"For me?" Hilary asked, he nodded, Hilary held out her hand "as you pass me the phone duck" she whispered.

Kai nodded and very reluctantly handed over his phone, dropping down he kept his head below the dashboard. Everyone else followed suit ducking low keeping their heads down.

"Hello grandfather"

"_Hilary, get out of that van and come here."_

"What will happen to me if I get out the van and come over?"

"_I will take you back inside and we will talk" _Horatio told her honestly

"What about the people in the van?" Hilary asked looking at Kai and the others

"_They will not be hurt I promise"_ Horatio smiled reassuringly

"Grandfather a little while ago I asked you if I knew a person called Kai, you said I didn't. It was a lie. You said Dr Kensall, was here to help me remember. It was a lie. You told me I had lived most of my life in England or Russia. It was a lie. You told me you were only concerned for me and my wellbeing. It was a lie. Do you know what I've worked out from all these lies?"

"_No"_

"When you lie, you have a tell,"

"_Do I indeed?"_

"Yes" Hilary nodded "when you lie, you smile." flipping it closed she hung up the phone.

"What's going on?" Kai asked still keeping his head low.

Hilary looked down at him "Brace yourselves." Kai involuntarily sat up as she spoke

"Are you sure you kno…."

Not bothering to let him finish Hilary slammed her foot down on the pedal, immediately the van shot forward, she was driving straight for her grandfather, Horatio didn't make a move. Kai gave her a worried look, if she wasn't careful she was going to run down her own grandfather.

Not that he wanted Horatio to live but he didn't like the idea of a Hilary who could kill in cold blood.

They were really close now and Kai was about to yell something when Hilary turned the steering wheel and hit the brakes. They came to a sudden and well placed stop, Hilary's door was just centimetres away from where her grandfather stood, she could look at the window and see his breath fogging up the glass.

Thinking she might be regretting her earlier words Horatio reached forward, his hand was almost touching the handle

Before he could actually touch the door they were off again, this time as the van shot forward Kai understood what Hilary had done, in one part of the semi-circle there were two motorbikes blocking their path, Hilary had looked around for the weakest point in the barricade and using driving full speed at her grandfather as a distraction had positioned them so that they were perfectly in line for it.

The two motorbikes were tossed to the side as the van crashed though them at full speed, the men standing behind them jumped clear and Kai could hear angry yells and a couple of shots follow them.

"Everyone OK?" Hilary asked not turning her head, she was a good driver all things considered but her head was beginning to ache.

"Fine" came the muffled response

"They're following us" Tyson yelled looking back

"Of course" Hilary nodded she drove the van over to an area that Kai recognised from the floor plans.

"We won't fit down that alley very easily" Kai shouted but Hilary just flashed him a cunning smile

"Pull you mirror in" Hilary snapped as she reached her hand out the window and pulled the one on her side in. Unsure Kai followed suit, he gritted his teeth as Hilary headed straight for the narrow alley, amazingly she didn't hit the sides as she steamed through the narrow passageway. The mirror on her side was badly damaged as she moved slightly too far to the left at one point but apart from that they made it through pretty well.

As soon as they were though the alley Hilary made a sharp turn to the right and headed for a wooden gateway. Smashing through Kai was surprised to find that they were still technically in the grounds, the layout he'd studied earlier was gone from his mind and he had no clue where to go next.

"Where now?" he muttered

"Just trust me" Hilary whispered before making a turn and heading for an area of wall. She came up to the wall and turning stopped so that Kai was blocked in "you'll have to get out this side" Hilary told him opening her door, she then stood on the seat and swung herself up onto the roof of the van "QUICK!!"

"What are we doing" Tyson asked as they all followed her onto the roof, in the distance they could hear shouting and shooting. Kai was the last one up onto the van roof and as he joined them Hilary pulled herself up onto the wall

"Come on!" Hilary commanded and not able to think of anything else they followed her.

The minute they dropped down Hilary took off again, Tala who had taken Sammy into his arms as they dropped off the wall was right behind her and soon knew where they were. Knowing where Kai said they had left the van near Hilary had gotten them really close to where they had come in. "The vans just over there" he called the others all overtaking Hilary and running quickly to where they had left Max, Kenny and Renaldo. Hilary appeared to be having trouble running, she was out of breath and the path didn't seem clear, everything was blurred.

Kai ran beside Hilary and when she tripped and almost fell managed to catch her and pull her up. Turning he looked at her properly noticing her flushed face and dazed eyes, she hadn't been like this a few moments ago.

"Hils, what's wrong?" He hissed concerned

"I feel tired" she muttered unable to shake her confusion, what was happening to her? where was she? Who was the man beside her…? Kai! That was it

Without wasting a second thought on it Kai swept her up into his arms and began running again. He held her tightly hoping that she was ok, he needed her to be ok. As he carried her her arms wound around his neck and she held him tightly "You smell like… " she muttered quietly "You smell like I thought you would."

The awaiting vehicle was a sleek black model, not exactly able to blend in with the traffic but bullet proof, and very fast, really that was all that mattered. The side door was open, Kenny stood beside the van arguing with Tyson, Renaldo sat in the driving seat his fingers tapping his fingers on the steering wheel in a bored looking manner. The situation changed as Tala burst through the bushes with a child in his arms, Tyson and Kenny looked up surprised and Renaldo turned on the ignition starting the quiet engine on and getting ready to drive.

Kai was the last one to arrive as he ran onto the scene holding Hilary close and heading straight for the van. He jumped inside in a swift movement seating Hilary between himself and Tala and yelling at Renaldo to drive. The van moved off quickly hitting the empty roads at great speed moving towards the airport.

"Hilary what's wrong?" Tala helped her to sit upright while everyone but Renaldo turned to face them. She was unable to keep her head up as she tried to keep her eyes open, beside her Kai looked panicked.

"Th-they injected me with something, sh-she called it a vitamin shot"

"You weren't due for another shot in days and…, and they weren't vitamins, they were… fertility drugs" Brady admitted moving closer to Hilary and taking her pulse "this is very erratic"

"What…" Hilary stared at her uncle in shock, "Wh-what are they…?"

"There's no time…, Hilary what colour were the drugs?" Brady asked quickly "and do you remember how much?"

"There wasn't really a colour, it was clear but… cloudy."

"Memory serum" Brady whispered regretfully "Oh God no. They injected her again, they were going to make her lose her memories. It takes at least half an hour before the clouds set in. She'll be unconscious in a few minutes we're very lucky that it didn't affect her before."

"What's happening to me?" Hilary asked unable to keep any of what Brady was saying inside her mind. It just wouldn't stick.

"Slowly you'll go unconscious and when you wake up you'll not remember anything. Not me, not Sammy, nothing"

"But it was coming back" Hilary whispered tearfully "I could remember…"

"What?" Kai asked before he could help himself, he needed to know what she had remembered.

"I remembered…" Hilary smiled turning to look at Kai properly "I remembered your eyes."

"Hils?" Kai placed a hand on her arm staring at her "you remembered me?"

"Not all of you" she whispered smiling "Just your eyes…and a bird… a fiery, red bird."

"Dranzer" he said smiling "you remembered Dranzer."

"Dranzer" Hilary smiled back at him "Yes! I remembered that too… now that I have it, I don't want to lose it."

"We'll help you remember it again" Kai promised "We're going to take you home where you belong."

"I…don't remember home" Hilary paused "I don't know…" looking up she laughed "I have no idea how I know all that stuff. It happens sometimes, silly things come out. Words… names, languages, songs, bits from movies… all really pointless stuff but… all stuff that I shouldn't know. Actually I have a question to ask you…"

"Sure, go ahead…" Kai told her gently

"This may sound odd… have I ever… almost died in a rock fall?"

"Yes" he nodded chuckling lightly "Yes you have."

"I've had a weird life. But…" Hilary frowned trying to focus on her surroundings "I…"

"Hilary?"

"Where…" Hilary frowned screwing up her eyes and trying to remember "I'm Hilary… I'm Hilary… I'm…, you're Kai… you're…" slowly her eyes drifted closed and she gave in to a deep slumber. "Kai…"

"She's lost her memories" Brady whispered mournfully "they were going before she slept, now she's unconscious and will be for over 36 hours, during that time the serum will work through her hippocampus then through to the cerebral cortex wiping it clean. That's the part of the brain that includes the perception of sensations, learning, reasoning, and of course…."

"Memory" Kai finished for him, staring down at the unconscious girl beside him he sighed shakily, well she had started to remember him last time maybe she'd remember him again. Not caring what the others thought Kai slipped his arm around Hilary's waist and pulled her closer to himself. It was good to have her in his arms again.

"The thing is I can't guarantee that she'll wake up in that amount of time" Brady whispered regretfully "It's dangerous for a person to be given that serum twice within a year, as soon as we're safe we need to get her to a doctor and have her monitored."

Kai nodded still staring down at the girl in his arms "I know, I asked Julia to get a doctor we could trust on that plane, I was worried one of us may be hurt, she'll be alright though" he leaned down and kissed her forehead "I'm not letting go of her again."

* * *

How much do you all hate me right now?

Please R&R


	23. Journey home

I'm so sorry that I've been gone so long! First there were exams, then there was a really bad chest infection that got me into hospital where they discovered that I was allergic to penicillin! I'm sure you can all appreciate that it's been a rough few weeks for me... the red blotches covering my skin are real attractive!!

I'm finally better but I swear I am so sick of hospital food! I got back two days ago and cranked out a chapter for this and a one shot I was due to put up.

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

"Are you sure?" Horatio demanded to know.

"Of course I'm sure" Voltaire responded angrily as he pressed a wad of material to his forehead "she bloody well nearly killed me and Dr K's still out for the count."

"So it was more than just rebellion on her part." Horatio shook his head impatiently "We don't even know if Dr K managed to re-inject Hilary"

"There was a vial of the serum missing but that could be very bad for us."

"What are you talking about?"

"I've spoken to Wingblade, he says that when injecting people twice within a six month period he discovered problems."

"What kind of problems?"

"Brain damage, a permanent loss of short term memory, and in some cases a coma-like state from which none have ever awoken. He still has a patient unconscious that he's been studying for over two years."

"Are you saying that Hilary is likely to suffer one of these?"

"Very likely"

For a moment Horatio looked dismayed, the last action he had taken whilst he had Hilary in his care could have irreparably damaged her. Then, strangely enough a smile began to cross his face.

"Call someone in. I have new orders"

--

The flight from America to Russia was painfully long, whilst most of them slept Kai didn't. He spent the entire flight watching Hilary's slow even breathing. She showed no signs of awakening but her pulse, heartbeat and temperature remained consistent so she wasn't likely to decline before they reached their destination.

The doctor that Julia had arranged to help them had not been able to travel with them but a cursory examination had shown that Hilary, despite being unconscious, was breathing normally and appeared to be perfectly healthy. Her heart rate and pulse were completely normal, the doctor proclaimed her to be sleeping almost normally. They had of course arranged for a doctor to meet them when they landed and Mariah was arranging a place for Hilary to sleep at the dojo that would fit any medical equipment Hilary may need.

The original plan had been to return straight away to Japan but Brady had intervened asking them to first return to Russia. None have them had wanted to, the trust between the two teams was not exactly concrete. The MI5 team were particularly annoyed that a team of kids could swan in and find out everything including stuff they didn't even know and the beybladers were angry at the way they had originally been treated and the lack of help they had received.

Still MI5 were MI5 and arguing with them seemed like a singularly bad idea. Add to that the fact that travelling as they were with Hilary was illegal it seemed like a good idea not to make new enemies.

Though he did not show it one the outside Kai was reeling, he wanted to spend all his time staring at her. She had remembered him, part of him had always known that he and Hilary were strong, special and that part of him had hurt when he heard she had forgotten him, even though he knew it wasn't her fault. It was thrilling to him that she had remembered him, he had not simply dissolved from her memory, he had obstinately remained. Well, he had always been a stubborn guy!

"She ok?" Millie asked sitting down opposite Kai, in her hand she held a mug of strong and fragrant black coffee.

"No change."

"Here" she held out the drink "Just one sugar... right?"

"Right" taking the cup from her Kai gave a weak smile "Thanks."

"No problem." Kai sat in silence watching Hilary as she slept, every time she shifted he would lean forward hopefully but every time it would turn out to be nothing and he'd slump back feeling dejected. Eventually Millie left and various members of the group would come and go joining Kai in his vigil, occasionally they'd try persuade him to sleep but the dark looks he gave them was enough to put them off.

It was a long flight.

--

It was a very nervous Jake that stood at the airport, he had heard of the success of the mission from Renaldo but a part of him just didn't believe it. After he found a suitable airport for Kai to land his plane without fear of officials trying to cause problems and away from the public he'd ensured that there would be complete privacy surrounding Kai's movements. Truthfully coming to Russia would throw Voltaire and Horatio off the scent a little. He'd spent ages in complete confusion trying to get his head around what was going on, he couldn't believe that the lifeless body he'd seen in Japan was not Hilary. In a few moments they'd be landing and he'd see for himself if Hilary's friends were correct.

"Nervous?" Cheryl asked with a smile

"No just..." he paused filled with uncertainty.

"Afraid?"

"Sort of. It's not that I want Hilary to be dead it's just... what happens now? They go home and what? Tell the world? Tell the family?"

"Why not?"

"Because of what it will do."

"And what's that?"

"It'll tear the family apart"

"And it's in such good condition right now." Cheryl stated sarcastically "There's more that's troubling you, tell me what it is."

"My grandfather won't give up this easily, I've followed his career for years, we have book, files and dossiers filled with information about my grandfather and his inexcusable tactics do you really think that this will be any different? He's not going to let them just go back to their normal lives after this, they need to go into hiding until he's dead or something."

"No office but I see your grandfather living till he's at least... 101 and that's years away"

"Why 101?"

"I'm rereading Dalmatians"

"Right..." Jake turned to where a plane was touching down on the tarmac "I just think they need to get away for a while."

"They need to go back to Japan, if what they say is true and Hilary had no memory of who they are then being back in familiar surroundings will be good for her and I think they need to get her into the public eye as soon as possible."

"Why?"

"It'll be a lot harder for Horatio and Voltaire to take her a second time if there are a lot of people aware of her existence, and there's no way that they could fake her death again because if they tried it the entire world would be really suspicious. Trust them to do what's right, they know what Hilary would want better than we do anyway."

"I'm related to her"

"And you've spent half your life pretending to hate her and loathe the very fact that she exists. You've spent more time with your doctor than you have with her."

"I've not been well recently" he argued mulishly

"Jake" Cheryl laughed and hugged one of her husbands arms as they watched the plane taxi towards the hanger they stood in. "You've just got to accept that Kai should be allowed to make these decisions, after all, without him there would be no decisions to make other than 'at what time of the year do we visit where she died to lay down flowers' if you think about it this is much better."

"Part of me doesn't trust Kai"

"Yeah the part of you that knows he deflowered your little cousin. It's kind of weird but in doing that he rescued her. That Millie girl might never have worked it out of..."

"Stop there" Jake shook his head "If we talk about this now I may accidently punch him in the face after he gets off the plane."

"Accidently punch him in the face? How do you accidently punch someone there?"

"Oh that's easy, you point off into the distance and turn suddenly around keeping your arm at eye level and there you go!"

"Devious" Cheryl nodded with a smile "Here they come."

Steps were at the now open door of the plane and slowly a figure appeared at the doorway, the familiar figure of Tala appeared as he was the first to leave the plane, he was quickly followed by an even more familiar figure holding someone in his arms.

"Damn" Cheryl whispered as she recognised the brunette being held by Kai. Turning she saw the sentiment was shared wholeheartedly by Jake who merely stood in stunned silence.

With careful steps Kai carried his unconscious girlfriend down from the plane and towards the hanger where suitable medical facilities had been set up to receive them. He was exceedingly careful as he placed her down on the gurney that Jake had ready making sure that the blanket underneath her was straight and resting her arms carefully beside her. Kai stared down at the still figure brushing her hair with his hand before he finally looked up at the welcoming party. Jake and Cheryl were surprised by Hilary's unconscious state and sent him a questioning look.

"It's a long story." Kai told them.

"A very long one" Tyson agreed as he came to stand with them. The rest if the team had come down now and stood behind Kai, they looked travel weary but there was no time to let them rest. In order to stay off Voltaire's radar until they were safely back in Japan where they could depend on Mr D's protection they needed to get in the air again very soon.

"We've got time while the plane refuels, we've got some decent food over here" Jake told them pointing to the offices, nodding over to one of his fellow agents "Take care of her" he indicated Hilary and then began to lead the others towards the tower.

Almost everyone followed eager to eat something well made, only a couple of people remained with the doctors as they began to examine Hilary setting up and IV and monitoring her heart rate. "Aren't you hungry Kai?" Cheryl asked.

"I want to stay with her" Kai said in a low voice. He didn't know how to explain it but he couldn't leave Hilary alone right now, he had this terrible fear that if he were to leave her alone, or even take his eyes off her for a second something could happen and he'd lose her all over again. "I'm fine"

The agent nodded and walked away but returned within minutes with a plate of pasta and a bottle of water "I'll sit with you..." handing him the food and drink Cheryl sat down next to him with a smile "if it was Jake, I'd be exactly the same."

Taking the fork she handed him Kai wanted to decline the need for food and water but, the pasta sauce smelt spicy and the cheese on top had melted perfectly creating an aroma that no one would want to say no to. His stomach made a noise that would have disagreed with him if he denied the need to eat so instead, he picked up the plate and began to eat. He wasn't really a fan of pasta but as it had been hours since he last ate the food seemed to taste better than anything else he had ever tasted.

After about half an hour the doctors left Hilary's bedside and walked over to Kai and Cheryl, instinctively they both stood up.

"Well?"

"She's fine, heart rate is normal, pulse and fine, she's reacting to light, we've taken some blood samples but unless we can put her through a CT or MRI machine there's not much more we can do for her."

"Is it safe to take her back to Japan?"

"I'd prefer it if she were to stay here but... given the state her mind will be in when she awakens it would probably be best to have her in a place that she used to know well." The doctor looked at Kai with a severe expression "I'm going to assign you one of my doctors who will monitor her progress, he'll be there merely for medical purposes you'll have to do everything. You're going to need to make sure that she gets plenty of bed rest when she awakens. You'll need to be very patient with her..."

"I'm sure he can manage" Cheryl broke in before Kai could say anything "Which doctor are you going to assign to her?"

"Dr Kim, he's studied Dr Wingblade's work and he's fluent in both Japanese and Russian as well as many other languages so whichever language she ends up speaking when she wakes up he'll be able to speak to her."

"According to Brady she spoke both very well." Cheryl agreed with a nod. "Alright Dr Kim it is."

--

"Come on little ladies let get this set up." Tyson's grandfather urged as he shouldered a duvet and carried it into his home. They had decided to set up in a room Hilary would know well and the place where she had often thrown water on Tyson's head in order to awaken him seemed like a good place.

"I can't believe they found her" Mariah muttered as she and Tia carried the bed frame up to the door "It's so weird."

"I know... and she's forgotten everything again."

"But she did start remembering, if she did it once maybe she can do it again."

"You seem to have forgotten that this time she's reacted badly to being injected with that stuff, what if she doesn't... damn it!" Tia jumped back as her end of the bed dropped from her hands and it narrowly avoided landing on her feet.

"Are you alright?" Mariah asked looking concerned.

"Yeah.... why are we even using a bed?"

"Because she needs care and the doctor will want to be able to reach her without having to kneel on the floor."

"Let's make sure we put a chair by the bed so that Kai can remain by her side." Tia said with a laugh picking up her end of the bed again.

"Do you really think he's the bedside vigil type?"

"I think he's the jealous type and that's the type to remain by her bedside... hey should you be carrying this in your condition?"

"I'm pregnant, not incapable... of course you and Lee can't seem to tell the difference."

"You're six months pregnant"

"And fully able to use my arms and legs"

"Put the bed down!!" Tia commanded angrily

"Make me!" Mariah snarled back holding tight to the frame

"Fine" Tia put her end of the bed down and pulled out a cell phone

"Wh-what are you doing?" Mariah asked as Tia dialled a number

"Calling Lee"

"No!" Mariah dropped her end of the bed so fast that there was an almighty crash causing Tyson's grandfather to run out to see what had happened.

"Everything ok out here?" he demanded moving pretty fast for a man of his age.

"Just Mariah taking her pregnancy seriously for once" Tia informed him sourly "she's gonna go sit down while we move the rest of this furniture."

"Good idea" the old man agreed picking up Mariah's end of the bed and beginning to carry it in with Tia.

Sighing heavily Mariah walked... waddled over to sit in the shade of the tree to watch the furniture moving. Tia was right in one respect, she hadn't been taking her pregnancy seriously. It just didn't seem real yet. Part of her decided that she wasn't actually pregnant just getting really fat and any moment her friends would ship her off to a fat farm. The other part of her was terrified of facing her responsibility as a parent, she felt nauseous all the time... it was about 50% morning sickness and 50% pure terror. She was going to be a rubbish parent, she had no idea how to handle babies. She had never been particularly maternal, any time she had been asked to babysit for someone she only did it if there was someone else who could feed and change the baby.

She hadn't allowed herself to think of the baby recently, she wanted Hilary. It was so stupid to admit to but Hilary was like her sister, her elder sister, Hilary had listened to all her troubles, had flown to China and looked after her when she had the flu, had held back her hair and comforted her when she had been tearfully drunk over Ray. Where most girls at this time would want their mommy she wanted her Hilary. It was silly and childish but damn it! She wanted her Hilary.

What was worse was the fact that when Hilary finally did come back there was no way of knowing what state she would be in. She wouldn't even remember the old friend who had shared so much with her.

Hilary may be coming back but it wasn't her Hilary.

* * *

I'll try to update as soon as possible but I need time.

Please R&R


	24. Back home

Sorry but it's a one of those short story building chapters, I know it's been a while since anything exciting happened but things will be kicking off again soon.

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

"So what time are they arriving?" Mariah asked chewing a pop tart as she watched Lee lifting weights.

"You ought to eat a proper breakfast, that things not exactly good for the baby. They said they'd get to Tyson's at about two this afternoon." He responded as he placed one of his dumbbells down and carefully flexed his muscles. "Are you going to be at the dojo when they arrive?"

"I've got a lot to do today but I should have it done in time... so when did they call?"

"At about six this morning, I was worried they'd wake you."

"I wish they had, I have a lot of questions that I want to ask"

"Mariah you need your sleep."

"What did they say?" Lee stared at her and she knew he was briefly wondering if he should tell her the truth or not. "Tell me... I can take it."

"She hasn't woken up yet"

"Not even a twitch?"

"No"

"How long's it been?"Mariah asked before she put the rest of her breakfast into her mouth

"Lets see... the time in America that was about an hour... the flight to Russia, about ten hours... the examination... about four hours... the flight here so far, about half an hour."

"Fifteen and a half hours in all. Doesn't that seem a little worrying to you?"

"Apparently Brady said to give it thirty six hours..." Lee told her gently

"Yeah cos we should trust him" Mariah snorted "I'm so glad they're gonna leave him and his family in Russia under Jake's protection."

"That's twenty more hours than she's had" Lee took hold of his sisters hands and stared into her eyes "Mariah... it'll be ok. And..., as a bonus, Ray'll be home soon."

"I know... I just want my friend back"

"I know but you're lucky, most people don't ever get a second chance when their friends have died"

Lee looked so serious as he said this that Mariah couldn't help but laugh. Shaking her had she punched him on the arm "You are **so** not funny"

"I know, that's why I had to quit my stand up career."

"You make a better beyblader any way... hey did you hear that Julia is coming back with them? Tala told me, it'll be so great to see her again"

"Tala told me about it too, he didn't sound as happy as you do!"

"Are you kidding? Between her and Tia he isn't going to get a moments peace!" Lee laughed and the cruel smile on Mariah's face as she told him about Tala's unfair situation. For some reason she took a rather unpleasant delight in the unfair taunting that Tala would receive.

"Yo! Lee!" Daichi appeared at the door holding a slice of toast and a jacket "We've got to go!"

"Coming... you gonna be OK?"

Pleased with his brotherly concern Mariah smiled and nodded "I'll be fine, I'll see you at the dojo later?"

"Definitely. Lets go Daichi!"

The two of them were quick to run out on their way to work, Daichi had taken covering for Ray very seriously but was apparently looking forward to quitting. Before everything had started he had been offered the chance to go back packing around Europe with some of his beyblading friends, he was hoping to meet up with them in Portugal. Mariah sighed and picked up the mug Lee had left on the floor before making her way back to the kitchen to clean up the mess Daichi had inevitably left there.

--

"So, what time will we be arriving in Bakuten?" Ray asked as he looked out over the wing of the plane.

"In about ten minutes" Kai responded without even looking at him. Dr Kim had just been checking Hilary's pulse and heart rate again and he was watching him avidly. The doctor moved away nodding slowly. "Is she still alright?"

"Her vital signs remain stable but I really want to get her scanned when we land."

"Kenny's gotten in touch with a friend, he's trying to arrange it so we can go straight to the hospital."

"It's arranged" Kenny told them standing to look over Kai's chair "Mr D is going to meet us at the airport, he's arranged for us to go secretly to the hospital but I had to tell a few lies in order to wangle it."

"Lies?"

"Well I wasn't exactly going to phone him up and say 'hey Mr Dickenson, turns out Hilary's alive and we've rescued her from the clutches of Horatio and Voltaire who were trying to impregnate her and now we need your help' so I told him that we'd gotten into some trouble that would look bad in the papers and needed his help. He sounded disappointed."

"It was a good idea" Julia told him appreciatively from across the aisle. "The story is pretty unbelievable."

"You believed it easily enough." Tala retorted

"Why would Millie lie about something like that?"

"If that's the case then why would Kenny?"

"Crazy with grief?" Julia suggested with a wicked smile

"And Millie wouldn't be crazy with grief?"

"She and Hil's weren't that close and you guys had all travelled to America with her, it was very doubtful that she'd have been able to convince you to fly out here without some proof."

"She had no proof, we were all just crazy with grief!" Tala spat back angrily, Julia was about to respond when she encountered a quelling look from Millie, instead she meekly nodded to her friend and sat in her seat. Tala was about to jeer about winning the fight when received a similar sharp look from the former blonde. Immediately he dropped into his seat and sent a nervous look over to his enemy. Smiling Julia nodded in agreement, it was surprising how scary a little timid Millie could be.

Proud of her achievement Millie smirked as she settled down next to her boyfriend, like the others he had been watching Hilary carefully throughout most of the flight. It was worrying how long she had been unconscious, Dr Kim himself seemed worried about it. There was a slight crease between his eyes whenever he looked over his patient.

Whatever Brady may say being asleep for fifteen hours seemed like a long time for someone to be unconscious and, they still had another twenty or so hours to go.

--

Mr Dickenson stood at the airport waiting for Kai's plane to land. He'd managed to ensure that their landing was a secret and had even arranged for a press conference on the other side of town that would keep any press busy, especially those that might have normally been hanging around looking for the return of the beybladers.

He was more than a little concerned about what was about to happen, Kenny's call had been singularly cryptic, the directions to meet them and help them transport someone directly to the hospital was distinctly worrying. He couldn't help but wonder who had been hurt and what exactly the injury was. He had an ambulance on standby and contacts at the hospital that would be able to deal with any requests that would be made on them. Clearing this part of the airport had been easy enough due to a 'gas problem' and he had two cars waiting by one of the staff entrances. H e couldn't think of anything else that might need to be done.

He couldn't help but wonder what had happened, usually he could trust the group that were on their way back, Max, Kenny, and Millie were trustworthy, Julia was temperamental but honourable, even Tyson and Tala had proven their worth and maturity during the time after Hilary's death. Kai's behaviour had been worrying and he wasn't entirely sure Renaldo could be totally trusted.

Sighing he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and removing his hat rubbed it over his bald head in a tired way. Moving towards the nearest chair he took a seat still staring out the window, he was getting too old for all the stress he had been under in the last year. First there had been all the problems with the tournament which had in turn caused anxiety about his job. And then once the tournament was over and he was thinking about and talking to Hilary and Hiro about the next one tragedy had struck. Hilary's death had affected him too, she had been a vibrant young girl and he had been grateful for all she had done for him. She had managed to control Tyson, she had befriended Kai, (two of the most difficult things that he had himself ever tried to do) and she had done it in almost no time at all. To top all that off one of his oldest and best college friends had recently suffered a heart attack, the funeral had been yesterday. It seemed like he had reached that stage in life, the one that all people feared, you started to lose friends and become ever more aware of your own mortality.

He gave another deep sigh as he watched Kai's plane come in to view, it landed steadily on the tarmac with a slight bump before travelling along and coming to a halt. The plane then began it's final taxi around the runway before stopping to await the corridor that would join the plane to the airport.

As soon as the corridor was connected to the plane Mr Dickenson rose to his feet and with steady steps made his way to await the passengers. Behind him stood two men and a wheelchair, whatever trouble they had gotten into it couldn't be so bad that they'd need more... he prayed to god that they wouldn't need a body bag.

His heart sank as he caught sight of Millie, she looked like she had entered the witness protection programme, the entire group looked very furtive as they walked towards him. The only person he couldn't see was Kai, as they realised that no one else was around they approached him en-masse and all began to talk and explain in one voice.

"Please, please kids" Mr Dickenson held up his hands and they all quieted down, "Now would someone please explain why you're all here, why you were in Russia, why you need to go to the hospital, and where is..." Mr Dickenson stopped as a figure appeared around the corner.

Unable to quite believe his eyes Mr Dickenson walked through the crowd of young people and met Kai halfway. Sleeping as she was, cradled against Kai's chest, Hilary looked younger somehow, her skin was pale, her hair limp. Reaching forward he placed a hand on her head.

"What is this?" he asked staring up into Kai's face

"A long story" Kai whispered smiling tenderly down at his cargo.

"I can imagine" Mr Dickenson chuckled disbelievingly as he stroked Hilary's hair "You look tired my boy."

"I'm fine" Once again Kai had refused to let anyone else carry his girlfriend and despite his probable (obvious) exhaustion he didn't appear tired in any way, he carried Hilary with complete ease.

"You'll sleep once we get her home" Mr Dickenson told him, "If you don't I'll have the doctors sedate you"

"Oh yeah!" Tyson jumped forward and pointed down the hall "You just reminded me, that's Dr Kim, he knows a lot about what's wrong with Hils. MI5 assigned him"

Mr Dickenson looked up surprised by the exclamation and nodded to the doctor standing there

"Hello there, I'm Mr Dickenson"

"Nice to meet you" Dr Kim responded with smile

Mr Dickenson then turned back to the group saying "I suppose that MI5 comment can be explained?"

"All part of the long story" Millie informed him "We better get out of here before Kai drops Hilary."

"Indeed, follow me everyone."

* * *

I'll be back soon as I can, I'm revising again, as I was ill I'm having to retake two exams in August!

Please R&R


	25. Sleeping Beauties

I want to apologise for not answering everyone's reviews like I used to, I've started up again but I am really grateful so if I miss you I still love you!.

You guys totally owe this chapter to Oposium my new favourite band. I recently heard them play and though I only found a couple of their songs on youtube I have been listening to them pretty continuously while I wrote this and I've started on the next chapter too!

I do not own beyblade

* * *

"Alright" Dr Kim pointed to the screen that brought up the brain scan "as you can see here there is less activity in this part of the brain than in this part." He indicated various coloured areas on a brain shaped picture that had his watchers totally flummoxed.

"Right, and that means...?" Mr Dickenson nodded, he and Kai as watched the man explained everything, it was just the three of them... and Hilary lying unconscious on the bed. Kai had one hand resting on Hilary's whilst the other one held a cup of coffee that Mr Dickenson had provided to help him get home still conscious.

"This proves that the serum was successful in wiping Hilary's memories away, however..." he paused looking concerned.

"However what?" Kai asked worriedly, he had just finished the coffee Mr Dickenson had given him

"This part of the brain is very restful... too restful."

"She is unconscious" the angry boyfriend argued desperately.

"Yes but this sort of restful state I would associate with someone in a vegetative state."

"You mean like a coma?" a yawning Kai asked his eyes flitting worriedly towards the still figure of Hilary on her bed.

"In a way" Dr Kim agreed. "but, I must admit there is a real risk that this may be the case."

"I don't understand"

"I didn't want to tell you but people who are given the serum twice within a six month period have been known to suffer certain side affects. A coma is one of those side affects."

"How bad of a coma?"

"None of the test subjects have woken up yet. There's been one in a coma for over two years"

"No" Kai shook his head and held Hilary's hand a little tighter "I won't let that happen."

"I'm afraid there isn't much we can do about it" Dr Kim informed them sorrowfully "There has never been any change in those people. Normally they would have had the machines turned off but Dr Wingblade is eager to see what state they will be in when they awaken."

"There must be something we can do." for once in his life Kai sounded incredibly close to begging and didn't care about it.

"I'm sorry" Dr Kim sighed apologetically "she's stable but if she doesn't wake up after the thirty six hour period is over it may be that she'll never wake up"

At that moment there was a knock at the door, Mr Dickenson snapped a quick 'come in' and Tala entered the room. "Is everything alright?" Mr Dickenson asked worriedly.

"Fine, we're all set for you, Kai Ray and Hilary to travel to the dojo. The rest of us will travel to the BBA headquarters and make an appearance there. We've been away for a while, it should cause enough of a stir that no one will question where Ray and Kai are."

"Excellent, we'll get into the ambulance within a few minutes.... Kai?" Mr Dickenson watched the Russian beyblader nervously "Are you alright my boy?"

Suddenly feeling very tired Kai stood and turned to face Mr Dickenson "What's going on?" he asked as the world around him began to spin.

"You'll forgive me for this one day" Mr Dickenson told him. Kai seemed to realise what the older man meant, he grabbed the mug his coffee had been in and stared into the remaining dark liquid. The smell of coffee drowned out any other scent that may be there but there was a slight film on top of the remaining liquid indicating that there was some other ingredient to the drink.

"How could you?" Kai hissed angrily, he took a swipe at the older man but missed and dizzily followed his hand around in a full 360⁰ circle before clumsily falling precariously onto a nearby chair. Tala who had seen all this jumped to grab Kai before he fell from the chair. Kai grabbed his friend's collar and stared at him "Watch her" he told Tala fiercely "don't let her out of your sight, if anything happens to her I'll kill..." no more was said as Kai finally gave in to the drugs power and slumping forward fell into a deep sleep.

There was silence in the room as Tala looped and arm around Kai's shoulders and shifted him more safely into the chair "You did the right thing" the redhead informed the worried looking older man "he wouldn't have slept any other way and I've been worried that he would collapse or get seriously ill going on the way he has. I do understand why he's been acting like he has, she was taken away last time and we never even noticed. I think he's afraid it'll happen again."

--

"I do not understand this delay" Voltaire muttered angrily as he sat drinking from a tumbler of whisky.

"Of course you do not" Horatio replied simply "you think of action but we cannot make a proper plans until we know of the situation. Boris is AWOL which in turn means that Kendall and Lando are gone, we have no idea if the serum was applied successfully and what sort of affects it has had on my granddaughter. You cannot deny that we know where they will go."

"The people we have sent out to enquire after them in Japan have discovered nothing."

"Then they are merely covering their tracks very well. I'm willing to bet you any amount you name that, if the serum worked, my granddaughter is at this moment sleeping off the affects at that damn Granger kid's house."

"They would not be so foolish to go there."

"Why is it foolish?" Horatio asked with a smile "They know for sure now that she is alive, if we make any move they can reveal to the world what we have done and my family will be very inclined to believe them. When we know how Hilary has been affected, even with most of the affects that were listed we could still use her body for our needs."

Slowly nodding Voltaire realised that he couldn't argue with his friends logic before finally staying "Then I agree, we wait until we know what Hilary suffers... if this was any other plan, any other business deal I'd suggest backing out, we are quite hemmed in right now."

"But this isn't just any plan is it?" Horatio asked with a smile "we have spent too many years on this to give up now, this is a lifetimes work. Not just our lifetimes work, our family's as well.

"We will not give up."

--

"Where is she?" Kai asked the moment he had woken up, he was lying on a couch covered by a tartan blanket which he soon discarded. Looking around he was surprised to see Mariah in his line of sight, she was kneeling on the floor and had many books and pictures covering the coffee table.

Turning Mariah smiled at the immediate question "She's right here" Mariah pointed to the corner of the room where Hilary's bed had been set up. The brunette now lay against the white pillows looking very pale in comparison to her usual colour. "We have made sure that someone was in the room every moment you were out, asides from moments where we were reading no one has taken their eyes off her. That the same one that you picked up in America" she smiled as she placed some papers into a folder.

Staring at the girl in the bed Kai seemed to sigh in relief "How long was I asleep?"

"I'm not sure, ages!" Mariah shrugged "You've been lying there for at least fifteen hours"

"Fifteen?" Kai asked jumping to his feet, he stumbled unsteadily as the room seemed to spin, the affects of the drugs had not fully left his system.

"Are you alright?" Mariah asked moving instinctively forward.

"Fine" Kai shook his head discouraging her from offering any more help. Once the room was steady again Kai walked forwards making his way to Hilary's side, she lay with her right side up against the wall so he took her left hand in his and sat in the very convenient chair placed by the bed. Her skin was satisfyingly warm, leaning down he pressed his lips to her hand.

Looking away Mariah prepared to leave but was stopped when Kai turned asking "Has there been any change?" as he asked this his hand brushed up her left arm lifting the sleeve of the hospital gown and inspecting the small round scar that permanently marked her as his Hilary.

"No, none." Mariah shook her head "Either myself or Dr Kim's been checking on her every hour, she's still stable but..." shrugging Mariah tried to forget the dire forecast that Dr Kim had predicted. "There is something else"

"What?"

"We think Voltaire and Horatio are looking for us, there've been reports of people searching the local hospitals and Boris's cell phone is going off all the time, he's unable to talk right now so we can't make him answer and find out what's going on. Kendall and Lando have has no contact so we can't use them."

"Why can't he talk?"

"I don't know, Tia and I have kind of been staying away from that side of things.... after seeing what you did to Kendall and Lando and knowing the history you guys all share I don't really want to know."

"I understand, you don't really need that kind of stress in your condition."

"Just having Ray back has helped... there's something the others don't know yet, I thought I ought to tell you before I tell anyone else."

"What is it?"

"It's your name... and hers... Tia and I were doing research on Hilary, we even gathered together the stuff her parents wanted to get rid of, old school projects and stuff."

"I don't see where this is going..." Kai frowned confusedly.

"Just stay with me here. When she was younger she did a project on her ancestors. She went into great detail, she always had to be top of the class, the name Tatibana goes back centuries in Japan, the original bearers of the name were a noble family, now... most people with that name don't descend from the family but Hilary does... she managed to trace her name right back to the nobility!"

"That's impressive..., but what's this got to do with everything that's going on?"

"Bear with me..., I had always recognised the name Tatibana but like I said it is a common name so I thought nothing of it until I saw this. Back when they were nobility Hilary's family owned a bit beast..."

"But she had never heard of beyblading till she met Tyson and the others, how could...?"

"Bit beasts are not immediately synonymous with beyblading, Tyson's Dragoon was stored in a sword for years! Beyblading is not as long standing everywhere as it is in places like my home town. The bitbeast could have been used for anything..."

"I still don't exactly understand..."

"The bit beast was Dranzer"

"What?" stunned Kai tore his attention fully away from Hilary and focussed it on Mariah

"There were two very important families back then, the Tatibana's and the Hiwatari's, they were allies, for centuries there was hope of joinning the two families but it would appear that it never happened. I don't know why. They were powerful families and the bit beast remained in a weapon of sorts, after thte nobility were reduced to penury it was sold, and placed in a museum until the weapon was purchased some years ago by a private collector."

"My grandfather?"

"Exactly, look I don't know if all this stuff is relevant but... there is a chance that it is."

"No you're right" Kai nodded before turning back to the bed "When she's woken up I'll get in touch with someone who will know more about it. I can't do anything until she has woken up... it may sound stupid but..."

"It doesn't sound at all stupid, I can do some research on my own and I'll talk to the others, they'll have some ideas. With Millie and Kenny on our side we can access any secure system in the world and find out whatecver we want." Mariah said in an understanding voice. She smiled at Kai, when she and Ray had first found out about Kai and Hilary she had worried that the Russian was indifferent to really care about Hilary. She had hoped for Hialry's sake that it would last but hadn't really thought it would. For once she was glad to have been proven wrong.

"It'll be ok Kai. We can do this, and we won't give up."

"Is it alright if..." Kai left the sentence hanging but Mariah knew what he wanted, she nodded and left them alone together. Leaning back towards the bed Kai pressed his lips to Hilary's soft hand again, she was warm, she was living.

Raising his hand Kai wiped away the tears that had started to fall.

-

Normally when Mariah meditated she would sit cross-legged on the floor but due to her recent growth in the tummy area she found it difficult to sit that way comfortably. Today as she began to meditate she sat comfortably outside on a deckchair revelling in the sunshine warming her skin. Without anyone around to disturb her Mariah began to think of a perfect moment to disappear into. The obvious one today was her recent reunion with Ray, she had been so pleased to see him again, their embrace had been tender yet exuberant. The kiss he had bestowed first upon her forehead, then her lips and finally on her stomach as he whispered a hello to his unborn child.

Slowly her mind began disappear into the blankness, peace and tranquillity.

The blankness became dull, grey, and then a light pink shade of light fell over her, turning Mariah nodded happily to the cat and sighed happily.

"I suppose that you know she's back again, I should have meditated and consulted with you before but I've been busy and it's not like you don't know whats going on."

The rich velvety voice beside her was comforting, and then confusing 'She has returned, I told you that you would see her again someday'

"Galux!" Mariah stared angrily at the pink figure before her "Wait..., you knew she was alright?"

'Indeed, I did try to make it clear that this was not the end.'

"I thought you meant I'd see her in the afterlife or something!! Why couldn't you have told me, we could have gotten to her sooner."

'I could not. I am allowed to be present for certain events, I am even allowed to help you win battles but this was not part of my duties'

"Cheers, this has been much appreciated" Mariah spat sarcastically, after a moment or two she simply stared at her hands, saying dejectedly "What does any of it matter? She won't wake up and even if she does then..."

'I know the dangers she faces, do not worry we are not alone in wishing her well, you may want to get in touch with people that understand the bit beasts better than you do.'

"Like who?"

'The others know of defensive angels that can aid them in this task.'

"What does that mean? Galux?" there was no response "Galux!" in her imagination Mariah stood and looked around the blankness she had created "GALUX!"

* * *

Please R&R


	26. Defensive Angels

Quick message for Kainaat, The reason the grandfathers don't just leave Hilary and Kai together is because they want to be in control of the situation, they are impatient and want to be in charge of everything and Hilary and Kai are very rebellious (Kai leaving to side with the Blade Breakers and destroying the abbey, Hilary refusing her grandfathers money and hanging out with the Blade Breakers) so they knew they couldn't control them, they are also two old men, they don't want to risk the child not being born in their life time. Plus there's always a risk that Kai and Hil will break up!!

Any further questions please ask!

Thank you all my lovely and beautiful reviewers!!

Guess what I don't own... a house!! And Beyblade.

* * *

"So you're saying that Galux knew all along?" Ray asked disbelievingly as his pregnant fiancée paced angrily around the room

"Yes" Mariah nodded helplessly, her anger at her bit beast was a new feeling but she was mainly annoyed that there was nothing she could do about it "trust me she got a piece of my mind for it... well..." Mariah paused remembering that Galux had disappeared off before she could say anything "she knows I'm angry!"

"OK" Ray nodded understandingly "Did she say anything else?"

"Nothing helpful" Mariah moaned flailing her arms around her head "Just more cryptic stuff like this is a crossword in a paper and not someone's life at risk! Why can't bit beasts just be normal? Why?" Mariah glared accusingly at Ray as though he was somehow supposed to be answered.

"Um..." Ray paused feeling cornered, he felt as though he was supposed to have an answer but was somehow unable to think of one "I don't know, I guess that's just part of their mystery."

"Well it's not fair" Mariah complained feeling even angrier "Who wants mystery? We spend all our time working out the answers to mysterious stuff so it's obvious we don't want mystery... right?"

"Well perhaps we ought to get the others together in order to discuss all this properly" Ray suggested deciding that he would be less likely to suffer Mariah's wrath if he were part of a group that didn't know what to say as opposed to being on his own and knowing nothing. It appeared to be a dangerous situation to be in.

When Ray arrived at Tyson's with Mariah and Tia in tow he was surprised to find that only Kai and Tyson were home.

"Where's everyone else today?" he asked looking around, he'd hoped to find a larger group of people.

"Tala's gone with the other Blitzkrieg boys to check on the prisoners," Tyson explained "Max and Millie have gone with Julia to sort Millie's hair out, Kenny went with Dr Kim to the local hospital, they have some supplies to pick up. Apparently Mr D has an in that'll help them out. I think thats everyone covered."

"What about Renaldo?"

"Oh, he wanted to see how his businesses were going since he left, he arranged a meeting."

"So it's just us then" Ray looked at Kai who sat by Hilary's prone body just holding her hand. "Hey Kai?"

"Yeah?" he didn't turn

"We've got something we want to talk to you about, it's important."

"Fine" releasing Hilary's hand Kai turned in his chair "What's going on?"

Mariah received the nod from Ray and began to tell them everything from the first time Galux had somehow connected her to Hilary right up until the meditation session yesterday. Tyson nodded seriously throughout not totally understanding why it had happened but being very understanding of the fact that Galux had not told Mariah the full story.

"Bit Beasts don't like to interfere with real life problems" Tyson agreed

"Beyblading affects real life, as does war and..., considering how many weapons the bit beasts have been stored in I'm willing to bet that they affected stuff in real life."

"I know, I'm not saying anything against that but... they want us to learn from our mistakes, they want us to use our own initiative. They like to see themselves as guardians that make us learn and grow as people"

"Wow, that's kind of deep" Tia said smiling appreciatively at Tyson

"Yeah well..." turning a pretty pink colour Tyson stared down at his feet "I've got a real rapport with Dragoon, we understand each other."

"Wow, he used the word rapport" Ray chuckled "I'm surprised he even knows what it means!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence!" Tyson snapped feeling embarrassed.

"What exactly did Galux say?" Kai asked cutting into the conversation, he didn't have time for petty arguments right now.

"Let me think... 'The others know of defensive angels that can aid them in this task.' I don't know if that means anything to you guys??"

"Nothing sensible, we know loads of people who might be able to help somehow..."

"She means the saint shields" Kai said quietly from the corner "It makes sense, they're more likely to understand this stuff than anyone else."

"They do understand the bit beasts" Ray agreed "Hey Mariah don't you have Miriam's number?"

"Uh, yeah" pulling her phone from her pocket Mariah searched through her contacts "Here she is... should I just call her?"

"It's probably a good idea" Ray nodded surprised by her reluctance "Why don't you want to call her?"

"It's not that I don't want to... it's just" Mariah sighed shaking her head "It just seems a little too easy, you know? Everything else has seemed to be such hard work."

"Well for all we know this may not be easy" Tia pointed out, "it could end up as a dead end."

"Good point!" seeming much more cheerful Mariah pressed a button on the phone and held the phone up to her ear.

"_Hello?" _the voice was surprisingly deep and masculine

"Miriam?" Mariah asked even though she was about 99% sure that it wasn't going to be Miriam on the other end of the phone.

"_It's Ozuma"_ the deep voice responded with a chuckle_ "Who's this?"_

"It's Mariah Wong..., Ozuma look, I have something really important to ask you about and I can't tell you the full story over the phone."

"_OK, well I'll help as best I can but if you wanted Miriam..." _Ozuma sounded worried, as though he was going to be dragged into some sort of embarrassing feminine conversation

"No" Mariah interrupted quickly "You'll be able to help, it's bit beast stuff"

"_Oh" _Immediately Ozuma was in his comfort zone._ "Ask away"_

"Ok... lets say someone wanted to create the perfect blader, now obviously they'd do all the genetics work, now just for a hypothesis imagine they found two DNA strands that, when mixed, would create the perfect blader. Do you think it's possible?"

"_I think it's more than just possible, if you pick the right people it's highly probable"_

"Highly probable?"

"_For centuries the members of two bloodlines were able to connect with bitbeasts in a way that no one has since been able to replicate the bond, we have tried."_

"Who were they?"

"_This may sound odd but it is thought that it was the Tatibana and Hiwatari families"_

"So Hilary and Kai could have been part of that line?" Mariah nodded pleased that her theory was being confirmed

"_It's an idea"_ Ozuma agreed _"You see the Tatibana and Hiwatari bloodlines are thought to be the bloodlines of old!"_

"The what-what of what?" Mariah asked

"_It's a legend"_

"Oh it always is with you!" she snapped angrily "Why can't legends and myths just stay legends and myths? Everytime you guys come onto the scene it's all 'ancient this' and 'prophecy that' I swear to god if one more…"

"Hi Ozuma!" Ray grabbed the phone from his fiancée and began speaking to the saint shield "Sorry about that, pregnancy's kinda shortened her temper."

"I'll shorten your temper!" Mariah yelled angrily

"It also appears to have affected her ability to form intelligent insults" Tyson said smoothly earning a death glare from Mariah for his troubles!

"So what were you saying?" Ray asked speaking calmly down the phone

"_Look there were two ancient bloodlines that stood out in the times when Bit Beasts were common use in battle, I always knew that Kai was one of them, he had such an affinity with Dranzer and of course, the Hiwatari men were known for having ocean coloured hair, but Hilary I wasn't so sure of… I mean, she couldn't even see them at first. And then she stunk at…"_Ozuma sounded mystified but immediately he remembered that this was bound to be a sensitive subject and he immediately became apologetic _"Sorry… look I didn't intend to sound mean or anything…"_

"It's ok" Ray interrupted, he didn't like that Ozuma was being so sensitive when there was nothing to be truly sensitive about. "What else is there to know?"

"_Well… the Hiwatari and Tatibana families were mainly men, there were rarely any females born into it, both families were small ones. They were either only children or just two kids, at a time, during that era it was very odd for clan leaders to have so few children, a lot of kids died at a young age so usually families would have several children just in case. Most people figured that the lines died out."_

"So working on the hypothesis that they didn't die out would you agree that the two bloodlines combined could still create the perfect blader?"

"_Well I don't know, they'd have a definite affinity with bitbeasts. That would help them… Tell you what, my village is having a big ceremony tonight, we communicate with the bitbeasts and they help us as they see fit, afterwards I could speak with one of the village elders, they may be able to tell me more information and..." _There was a pause as Ozuma seemed to be thinking about the matter _"why all the questions? Why now?"_

"Um…" Ray sighed, it didn't seem to matter how much they intended or tried to keep all this a secret the amount of people that knew about it just seemed to get larger and larger. He looked around at the others and decided that he might as well tell Ozuma the whole story "Hilary's alive"

"_What?"_

"Hilary's death was faked, it's a long story and I can't get into it right now, she's in a really bad way, the people that abducted her really did a number on her but she's alive and we're gonna keep it that way."

"_Wow… where is she?"_

"Here, Tyson's place, she was being held prisoner by some old friends of ours."

"_Old friends?"_

"Boris, Voltaire, even Dr K was there."

"_Wow, that's a real blast from the past, get a few other people in and it's like an episode of this is your life!"_

"Tell me about it! Look I didn't want to drag you guys into this but…"

"_We'll be on our way as soon as possible, who else knows all this?"_

"Blitzkrieg, Blade breakers a few other people. You don't have to come…"

"_It the ancient lines are involved I need to be there."_ Ozuma told him sounding serious _"the elders will advise me… Hilary and Kai. They were together. If they get together then… this is the biggest thing to happen in our history, in anyone's history."_

"I guess I'll see you soon then" Ray smiled into the phone "It'll be good to have you guys around"

"_Ugh. Don't get soppy on me"_ and with that the saint's shield team mate hung up.

"They're coming?" Kai asked abruptly as Ray handed Mariah's phone back to her

"They think it's important, they were going on about bloodlines and stuff like that"

"When will they get here?"

"They'll be travelling tomorrow, by then things should be different" Ray muttered moving to stand beside Hilary raising his hand he brushed away some of her hair "she should be awake"

"She will" Kai muttered "By the time they get here she'll be awake"

--

Ozuma had stood before the elders of his village twice in his lifetime, the first time had been when her had been chosen to leads the team that would retrieve the sacred bitbeasts, the second time had been when he and his team had been asked to explain why they had returned without the four sacred bitbeasts.

To say that the council had been displeased with his decision had been the understatement of the millennium.

Standing making his case to the elders Ozuma could feel his heart hammering in his chest. If it wasn't such an important matter he wouldn't have ever thought to speak with them again, it killed him to even look at the disapproving men. Behind him Miriam gave him a nudge, she was the only one standing by him on this one. Dunga and Joseph were away and no one else in the village seemed willing to back him up. It probably had something to do with the mess he had made of his last mission. As it was Miriam only had the courage to be here because she was anxious to see for herself if Hilary was really alive.

"How sure can we be of this Ozuma?" the head clan member asked "I know that this boy has wielded Dranzer but he would not be the first non Hiwatari to carry Dranzer."

"Miriam will back me up that Kai is definitely a member of the Hiwitari bloodline, his skills in the dish and his relationship with Dranzer certainly proves that, Hilary... she had a no affinity with bit beasts and she has no talent for beyblading whatsoever, I do in part doubt her..."

"Her family kept her away from all that for years, it's no wonder she has none of the expected skills" Miriam jumped in suddenly trying to explain everything "Her grandfather gave her explicit instructions to stay away form all that, she rebelled, ahe was drawn into the world of beyblading and one time when Joseph's Vanishing Moot was invisible she could see it, she made it so that everyone could see it."

"That's true" Ozuma nodded his agreement

"Miriam, you were not pleased with your last mission and the decision that Ozuma made to leave the bit beasts with their current owners. Were you?"

"No sir, I believed that the bit beasts would be safer with us."

"And yet you are willing to follow Ozuma back into a similar situation?"

"Yes"

"You must be reasonably certain that he is right"

"I'm more than just reasonably certain sir, I'm almost positive that he is right in this case" it wasn't necessarily the truth but it was the only way she'd be able to get to visit Hilary without having to scrape the money together herself. Besides... he might be right.

"Then we shall approve of you going but..." the elder cut off the mini mental victory dances Miriam and Ozuma were doing "Miriam, you shall be the leader on this mission. Is that understood?"

"Sure" Miriam nodded happily, Ozuma's look of distaste only increased her pleasure with the way things had been arranged.

"Does this suit the elders?" the head of the clan turned to look at the rest of the people around the table. Luckily for Ozuma the elders were in a particularly good mood, the ceremony that had taken place earlier required a certain amount of imbibing and as a result was that the men, with the exception of the head, were more than a little tipsy.

"We have no quarrel with this decision" one of the more sober members spoke for everyone.

"Very well then" the head nodded before signalling that they should all bow their heads, everyone did so, "We ask that the sacred bit beasts protect the young ones of the bloodlines of old. They do not yet know what they will be asked to do but they must be prepared for the sacrifice they will be asked to make. Keep them well and safe. Do what needs to be done until we can reach them to protect them ourselves."

For once Miriam felt that the final prayer had done some good, she felt comforted and ready.

--

A lot can happen in thirty six hours, you can watch one and a half series of 24, you can fly around the world, according to George Seaton and Roald Dahl it's the amount of time it takes to convince a man he's suffering from amnesia and get him to spill important war plans.

Of course there are often cycles of thirty six hours in which nothing happens.

This had been one of those cycles.

A full thirty six hours had passed by and the one event Kai had been waiting for had not happened,

"What's the verdict?" Kai asked looking up at the doctor.

After running some cursory checks Dr Kim looked up at the expectant young man with a wry smile "It's been over thirty six hours" Dr Kim finally told him "Thats the longest any of the people who had the serum injected into them stayed asleep without remaining asleep."

"I know"

"So you also know that it's unlikely she'll ever wake up."

"I have faith in her" Kai whispered laying his head down on the bed "She will come back to me" Shaking his head Dr Kim left them alone.

Kai shook his head, the doctor didn't understand, Hilary was different, she had survived so much she couldn't just die, Hilary was too stubborn for that. That was part of the reason he had fallen for her, she was like the wind, wild, unmanageable, you could place things in her way but she would simply move around the obstacle and continue on. Resting his mouth near Hilary's ear Kai whispered

"Hilary? Come back to me, don't leave me all alone."

--

Far away in a small town in Nova Scotia two young boys were beyblading, they were good friends training and hoping that one day they would be a part of a team like the Blitzkrieg Boys or the Blade Breakers. Their beyblades spun rapidly as their bit beasts circled above their dish.

"You're going down!!"

"Yeah right!"

Suddenly in two simultaneous flashes of light their bit beasts disappeared.

The boys stared cluelessly at each other.

"What the hell just happened?"

* * *

Ok this is the last chapter for a few weeks, I really have to revise now.

Please R&R


	27. Awakened

Late update but this is due to studies, retakes and the fact that I've recently moved home and no longer have the internet!! Excuses, excuses but I swear I will do my best to keep this going. Sorry it's short but I will be updating ASAP

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

It was the fact that Hilary was still breathing that kept Kai breathing, the fact that her skin still felt warm under his hand. He frequently stood beside her bed feeling her skin, checking the machines connected to her and listening to her breathing. After these inspections he always leant over her and pressed his lips to hers, he would close his eyes longingly wanting her to do as he once did and suddenly kiss him back.

She never did.

Of course he hadn't done any of that in the last couple of hours, he wasn't alone with her right now the rest of the 'team' were sitting in the same room as him. It was a Sunday, no one had to work so even Lee and Daichi were sitting talking with the others. Miriam and Ozuma were due any minute and they had decided that now would be a good time to all get together and discuss all that had happened. The news that Hilary and not Kai was really the one who should have inherited Dranzer had surprised everyone. Normally some jokes would have been made about Kai and Hilary's being together but everyone had been sensitive. Even Daichi! Although, Kai had noticed Daichi was very withdrawn recently.

At any minute they would arrive and he had been confident, so confident that she would wake up before they arrived. He had said it as a if it was a sure thing, he had told himself that it was true, that at any moment she'd sit up and look around. He wasn't expecting recognition, he didn't think she'd know him but he would hear her voice, he'd make her laugh and even if she could never get him to remember him he'd make sure she fell in love with him again.

The sound of a doorbell interrupted his ruminations.

There was a scramble as all three girls jumped up and made their way to the door

"Miriam!"

"Mariah! You look amazing!!"

There were four girls in the hallway and all four of them seemed capable of raising their voices to a pitch only audible to dogs or bats. The men groaned.

"Hi" leaving the girls to their welcomes Ozuma had entered the room, there were times when his team mate's femininity became too much for him. He had slipped away as quickly as possible and finding the room where Hilary laid had been a lucky chance. The others responded in kind

"Ozuma" their greeting was a lot simpler as Ozuma walked up behind his one time enemy.

"Damn" Ozuma whispered the word as he looked down at the bed, she really was alive.

"My reaction was very similar" Kai agreed

"How is she?"

"She'll be fine, she just needs some more time" Even as he said it Kai was aware that he did not truly believe it. His faith in Hilary's strength and the likelihood that she'd wake up was failing. He could practically feel everyone else's reaction to the statement he had made, he could feel how they close they were to giving up. If he wasn't starting to fail in his certainty himself he'd lose his temper with them.

Miriam entered the room and ignored everyone but the only person who couldn't welcome her. She crossed towards the bed looking stunned "My God! This is the best news ever!" she reached forward and felt the younger girls pulse "Or it would be if she was awake... she's got a strange aura."

There was another ring but this time instead of it being the door bell it came from Renaldo's pocket. He gave everyone an apologetic look before opening up his phone

"What?" he snapped, there was a long pause "...what?" another pause "I'll do it now." He hung up and ignored their questioning looks "I need the TV!" Renaldo stated marching across the room and turning on the television, he flipped through the news channels until he got the story he wanted

A female news reporter sat at a desk, behind her was a picture of two beyblades clashing at each other.

"_...ound the world beybladers have been reporting their bit beasts missing. The first case of this occurrence was reported in Detroit where the well known Mathilda Konno reported the disappearance of her bit beast Pierce Hedgehog. Soon the police BBA and other authorities began to get more and more reports of people losing their bit beasts. So far no one seems able to explain..."_

The television was muted as everyone looked at each other.

"When was the last time any of you checked your beyblades?" Renaldo asked looking around at the beybladers.

"Hey guys!" at that moment Max dragged his beyblade from his pocket. "Hey, Draciel's missing from my beyblade" Max complained looking down at the bit chip.

"How's that even possible?" Ray asked moving pulling his own beyblade from his pocket, "you'd have noticed if someone tried to take it… Drigger's gone."

"Galux is gone too" Mariah stated staring down at her own pink beyblade "She's not been stolen, she's just.... left."

"What?" everyone turned from Max then Ray and finally focused on Mariah

"Come on everyone! Check your beyblade" Mariah commanded "do it, now!"

Immediately hands went into pockets and cases and beyblades of various sizes and colours were pulled out. Cries of 'mines gone too' and 'what's going on?' sounded in the room

"Hilary" Mariah said suddenly and ran towards the hospital bed where her friend lay. Staring down at Hilary she smiled "Thank god"

Beside her Miriam nodded, I understand as well she placed her beyblade beside the bed and smiled "Look after her. Do everything you can."

"Mariah? Miriam?" everyone was staring at her as they turned to face their friends

"Yes Ray?"Mariah asked sweetly

"What's going on?" he asked, the two girls exchanged looks but Mariah inclined her head giving Miriam the opportunity to speak

"Do you remember me telling you about the elders, and how they evoked the bit beasts, how Galux connected Mariah with Hilary? They're doing it again only this time…, this time they're trying to bring her back to us. They appear to be trying to heal her, that's why she has such an odd aura. The other bit beasts are all helping out. There's a lot of energy here… I think the BBA and Police may get a few calls from other people that find their bit beasts are gone but they will return to the beyblades eventually."

"What makes you say that?" Tyson asked still looking at his own empty bit chip, he was extremely depressed at finding Dragoon gone.

"I sense…, I sense many bit beasts here, more than just ours… but they aren't permanent residents" Miriam paused looking back at Hilary before tuning to her friends "Although the elders only called on the sacred bit beasts Hilary has many friends that mourned her loss, many of them have bit beasts and bit beasts all communicate. It wouldn't take much for many to get here."

"We're gonna get her back?" Kai asked hopefully

"Yeah, but I can't guarantee what state she'll be in."

--

He was beginning to fall asleep, Kai shook his head trying to stay awake but sleep was coming upon him fast and he couldn't seem to fight it. He had been sitting with Hilary for hours praying that the bit beasts would succeed in their work and bring her back to him. Unlike Mariah and Miriam he couldn't sense the work that the mythical creatures were doing but… maybe it was a female thing. He was determined not to sleep until she had awoken but he was falling asleep. He needed to get himself from coffee but he was loathe to leave her, he rarely allowed her to be alone but it was late, it was unlikely anything could happen in the amount of time it would take to go to the kitchen and make himself coffee.

Standing he leaned down to kiss her cheek before he turned away to get himself a caffeine boost. He walked away to the door but turned back when he was there, he checked the windows, they were locked as they had been ever since they had returned. There was no way anyone could enter the room unless they used this door and he'd be well able to keep an eye on the door from the kitchen.

He'd just be a few minutes.

The door closed behind him and the sound seemed to rouse the sleeper.

In her bed the brunette moved, she felt oddly alive, oddly wakeful, she felt as though her mind was buzzing with thought, the blood felt like it was rushing through her veins. Her heart was pounding. She could feel her senses heighten, scents filled the air but she could not see the source, sounds buzzed outside but she knew somehow that she shouldn't be able to see them, her skin was sensitive, the thing she lay on and that surrounded her was too rough against her arms and legs.

As one that had merely been disturbed from a nap Hilary stretched sleepily as she shifted in the bed, her eyes opened slowly. She didn't recognise this… this bed, pushing herself up she looked around the room. This was odd, what was going on?

Sitting up she looked around confused and unhappy where was she?

Her eyes immediately went to the windows, she had to get out of here, but… where would she go?

Where was she?

Did she know anyone nearby or was she perfectly safe here?

The door of the room opened and a dark haired man with tanned skin walked in "Hilary?"

His voice was soft, understanding but his dark eyes seemed full of fear and worry.

"Who are you?" she asked finally finding her voice

"I'm Dr Kim" the man said "You won't know me"

"No"

"Do you... know this room?"

Dr Kim watched as the young woman gazed around the room with terror filled eyes, she looked like a frightened animal, her actions were cautious, withdrawn.

"No" she shook her head. "Sh-should I?"

"Yes" he nodded his face falling, he'd known how ridiculously unlikely it would be that she would awake with her memory intact but he knew how crushed everyone would be with this definite news. "I have to..." Dr Kim turned to the doorway again but it opened before he got there.

"Here" Kai walked in handing Dr Kim a drink, noticing the look on the mans face Kai questioned "What's wrong?"

The doctor said nothing he just turned back to look at the girl on the bed

"Hilary?" Kai didn't notice the two mugs of practically boiling hot drink fall down his legs. Instead he walked towards the bed totally ignoring Dr Kim as he uttered the words 'she doesn't know you' "Hilary?" he asked again taking one of her pale trembling hands into his own. "Do you remember me?"

* * *

How mean am I?

Please R&R


	28. Remember me?

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Kai stared deep into Hilary's eyes trying to mentally make her remember, as if he could imprint himself into her brain just by looking.

"No" her response was blunt but was followed by an odd sort of hiccup, within seconds Hilary was in tears she was so confused, this man had called her Hilary. Was that her name? Her head was buzzing with thought but none of the thoughts seemed to help her to remember. All she knew was that she was scared. She gave a dry sob, her throat hurt and she really wanted something to drink.

It felt as though someone had just punched his heart, dropping her hand back on the bed Kai stared at his girlfriend as her eyes flickered around unknowing and afraid. He wanted to leave, he didn't want to see her like this. Hilary had been strong and confident, she had been his. He was about to turn and go when he saw the tears starting in Hilary's eyes. Immediately his protective streak kicked in, taking her hand in his he placed a comforting arm around her shoulders "Are you alright?"

"No" that seemed to be her only response to questions at the moment but it was the truth. Another sob choked up her throat and the tears in her eyes fell down her face, clinging onto the only thing that she could Hilary wrapped her arms around Kai's strong shoulders and held tight.

The days where Kai would have been disdainful of a tearful young woman were still present but, he had never minded Hilary's crying. When Hilary cried he got to put his arms around her and hold her. It would appear that some things hadn't changed.

Dr Kim watched the young couple and smiled slightly, he had seen Kai's dedication and he had worried when the young man dropped her hand looking for all the world as though he had reached his limit. It would appear that Kai was stronger than he thought. Really he ought to insist on checking the young woman's vitals and make sure that she wasn't about to suffer a collapse but instead he quietly turned and left the room, Hilary would want something sweet and soothing to drink when she was done crying.

It was a miracle Hilary had even woken up, Mariah and Miriam had informed him that after the bit beasts got involved her coming round was merely a matter of course. He didn't personally know much about bit beasts but it would seem that in this case they had been very helpful. Either that or Hilary was a miracle to modern science, no one else had ever woken up after so long asleep from the serum.

Left alone together Kai kept one arm around Hilary and with his free hand wiped her tears away with his bare fingers "Who are you?" she whispered, she felt him tense up at her question but his arm remained where it was giving her warmth and security.

He almost sighed but he managed to hold it in "My name is Kai, you and I have known each other for years. You… you yell at me when everyone else is scared to."

"Is that a good thing?" she asked nervously

"A very good thing" he reassured her "I'm hard headed, every now and then I need someone to make me see sense. That's what you do."

"I see… no…" she shook her head "I don't see. I don't understand…, I don't know. What's wrong with me?"

"You've been unwell, someone gave you something and it made you go unconscious and then forget everything." He had already decided that full disclosure was going to be necessary if she was ever to fully trust him, and he had put the whole situation into the most simplistic account he could manage.

"Who?"

"Your grandfather, and mine and a couple of other bad people."

She frowned, was this normal? It didn't seem normal "Why?"

"It's a long story" he sighed trying to think of a way to explain everything "I… I can't think of how to even begin to tell you everything right now. I've been sitting waiting for you to wake up for hours."

Hours…. A unit of time, she nodded, she remembered that at least! "How long have I been asleep?"

"A long time, days. I wasn't awake for all of it just… most of it." He admitted with a smile.

"Alright." She nodded her voice sounding tired "I can wait for the full explanation. Where am I?"

"This is the home of one of your best friends his name is Tyson and his grandfather."

"Tyson" she repeated "I suppose it's customary to stay with friends when you're ill?"

"No, usually people go to a hospital. We brought you here because we thought it could be dangerous for you to be somewhere else, besides, everyone else thinks you're dead."

"Dead?" as she took this in she looked completely confused. Dead meant dead, deceased, lifeless, six feet under, kicked the bucket… right? "Dead like… buried dead?"

"Yeah…, cremated and buried dead, it's all a part of the long story but that's why you're here."

Hilary nodded and looked around the room again, it was a plain room, wooden flooring and walls it didn't look at all familiar. "Where exactly is here? I mean, a friends house but…"

"Japan, you've lived here most of your life."

Their game of twenty questions was interrupted when Dr Kim walked into the room carrying a tray of mugs filled with steaming liquid. Instantly Hilary seemed to shrink into Kai winding one arm around him.

"It's ok Hil, he's here to help you. He's a doctor." She gave him a confused look and then realisation seemed to dawn.

"Of course, doctors are trained to keep people healthy" she laughed at herself "I couldn't even remember that at first."

"That's actually very normal. I've brought some honey and lemon, it's weak but good for your throat especially if you haven't been drinking for a while."

"Thanks." Hilary took the drink and sipped at it gratefully.

"Milk for you" he handed over a mug of warm milk to Kai who took it with a look of disgust

"Warm Milk?"

"Warm milk…" Hilary frowned in an effort to remember "...helps you sleep right?"

"Right" Dr Kim nodded with a small smile, he had read that it took a while for victims of the serum to get the basics back. They would forget simple things like 'hello' is a greeting but those things usually came back.

"You should drink it" Hilary said looking at Kai "If you've been up so long it might do you some good." Kai said nothing but he sipped at the provided drink obediently. "Dr Kim?"

"Yes?"

"Where are you from?"

"Korea"

Korea, a country close to Japan... she knew that the capital was Seoul but couldn't seem to remember anymore "Did I ever…" Hilary paused unsure at what to say next, how do you ask people if you should know them and still sound polite?

"Know me? No. Until now I have only known your comatose self. You're proving a very quiet patient so far."

"Oh good" Hilary smiled "At least there's one person I'm not meant to know."

As Kai and Hilary sipped at their drinks Kai gave a short explanation of what had happened, how she had gone missing and a look a like had been killed so everyone would think she was dead. How most of her family probably couldn't be trusted and how her friends had worked hard to get her back.

"I don't even know for sure if I can trust you. I don't know that I know you." Hilary said quietly as she sipped her drink "From what you tell me I would probably be better off trusting no one."

"I know" Kai agreed smiling "I do have proof that you know me but it could have been forged for all you know."

"You really don't want me to trust you do you?" Hilary laughed as she thought about it.

"I don't want you to blindly trust me. I want you to be fully aware of all the dangers around you and then to make up your mind yourself, if you want to stay with us."

It was a very sweet thing to do really, he wanted her to freely trust him instead of just obeying him and trusting him because he said she should, despite having just met him she really respected and admired him for that. "What proof do you have?" Hilary asked staring at her mug. "Proof that I know you?"

"Pictures, stuff from your past, we collected it together because we hoped it could trigger a memory" Kai yawned exhaustedly he was feeling so drained but he didn't want leave her alone.

"Go get some sleep" Hilary urged patiently "We can talk more in the morning."

"I'll stay with her" the doctor told Kai "I'll look after her, I'm willing to bet that right now all she wants to do is eat something." Hilary's stomach had grumbled accordingly many times as the two had spoken and so she nodded agreeably.

"Alright" Kai agreed shifting to stand, he looked at Hilary tenderly "Just come find me if you need anything" he told her placing one hand on her shoulder and squeezing it gently.

"I will" she reassured him.

Kai leant down and kissed her forehead before he walked away, he hadn't meant to do it and he barely registered doing it but it had been reflex and it made Hilary blush.

Dr Kim watched Hilary flush lightly as Kai left the room, she had obviously been confused by his gesture but she said nothing. He decided not to say anything to her about it, right now he needed to find out from Hilary exactly what her state of mind was, and what she remembered. He had never attended a patient that had only just awoken after taking the serum, he had only ever known patients a few weeks or moths afterwards. From a purely analytical and medical point of view Hilary made a very interesting case.

"Do you know anything that you want to eat?" he asked hopefully "What you think would taste good?"

"Not really…, this tastes good though" she held up her mug and smiled gratefully.

"I'll get you something plain" he decided and she nodded.

Left alone Hilary shook her head, even though she was alone again she felt like someone else was in the room. Looking around she could see that she was in a large room, it was wooden, she had noted that earlier, it was also quite an empty room… what was that strange line of toys over there? Walking forward Hilary inspected the line of beyblades that had been laid nearby awaiting the return of their bit beasts.

She picked one up trying to remember what it was for, all she could remember was that there was something missing.

-

"She woke up!!" Mariah expostulated staring at Kai, he had made the announcement very casually across the breakfast table when someone asked why he wasn't sitting with Hilary.

"Yeah, she didn't remember me"

He spoke in a low voice sounding emotionless, feeling despondent Mariah and Tia exchanged looks, "I guess we ought to get those books out." Tia muttered unhappily. Despite everything they had been told they had all hoped that is she awoke she would remember them again.

"How was she though?" Tyson asked nervously "Did she panic?"

"No, she was… remarkably calm" Kai smiled to himself there had been tears, he had expected that, but when Dr Kim had warned that peple often panicked he had really hoped that Hilary wouldn't do that. Hilary wasn't the type to panic, she got mad, she upset, she got flustered, but he had never really seen her panic, he didn't feel he'd be able to cope with her panicking. "I told her that we had proof." Kai told them looking at Mariah "I think you and Tia should go to see her."

"What about the rest of us?" Daichi asked eagerly

"I think we should wait awhile before we all go in there, she's met me, I think Tia and Mariah should go in, I think maybe Tyson, Ray, Max and Kenny should go in there too, we're the ones who've known her the longest."

"Come on!" Daichi complained angrily "I've known her ages! Almost as long as you! I should get to see her."

"Dr Kim said not to overwhelm her, you'll get to go in later, we're not letting Grandpa or Mr Dickenson in yet and they've known her just as long as you, if not longer!"

"Fine!" Daichi huffed stomping away and out of the kitchen,

Kai ignored the young man, he didn't heave time for temper tantrums. "Mariah, Tia, when you guys are ready I'll take you to see her"

-

"I get it Daichi"

"Tala!" the redhead turned surprised by the voice that came from behind him, he hadn't expected to be followed when he left, least of all by Tala, the older man had followed him right into the garden "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Hilary filled many roles in her life, she was girlfriend to Kai, best friend to Mariah, confidant for the Blitzkrieg Boys, little sister to the other guys and to you… she was the mother figure."

Daichi didn't respond, there was no denying it. Hilary had cooked, cleaned, ironed, mended, she had reinforced rules making him do his homework and eat his greens. She had done the same to Tyson but there was one big difference, Tyson still had his family, Daichi didn't. Daichi made family wherever he could. He found a grandfather in Tysons grandfather, a father figure in Hiro, brothers and sisters out of most of the people in the tournaments and Hilary had easily slipped into the role of mother.

"I suppose you kind of get looked over a lot" Tala sighed, he had never really noticed Daichi appearing any different during the mourning process but, that might be because he didn't pay much attention to anyone other than Kai as he'd expected his friend to do something stupid at any moment.

"I can deal with losing people, I understand what it is to repine" Daichi shrugged "It's happened a lot, mum just after I was born, family friends on my dads site, my dad himself. I don't know how to process all of this. She's back but… how long for? It's only a matter of time before her grandfather shows up and tries to take her away again."

"We won't let them do that"

"It just seems a little bit of a bathos!"

"Huh?" Tala stared at the young boy, was he making up these words?

"I mean that people are fragile, human beings die, I'll lose her again one day, we all will."

"That's true but Hilary disappeared she didn't die and even if she did die, it was too soon, it wasn't her time. She got snatched right from under our noses. Now imagine that Hilary gets sick and dies in six months time, we still get six more months of her bossing us around."

Daichi snorted softly "Yeah, I guess so."

"You might even get her to do some cooking during that time."

"As long as she doesn't use any chillies" Daichi agreed laughing, he held his beyblade in his hand and stared down at the centre "I guess I should just be glad that Hilary's back, I just don't understand why Strata Dragoon hasn't returned to my beyblade yet, Hilary's awake now…"

"You know" a voice interrupted them "We were wondering if you guys would know anything about the whereabouts of our bitbeasts" standing in the gateway Robert Jurgen, Johnny McGregor, Oliver Polanski, and Enrique Giancarlo all looked very perplexed "Of course given the nature of your conversation right now I think we've stumbled onto more than we should have done."

"Just a bit" Tala agreed looking from the team to Daichi

* * *

Yay the Majestics are around. I love the Majestics merely because they are such an unlikely group. They are here for a reason but that won't get explained for a couple of chapters, it does make sense to me that is the Majestics lost their bit-beasts they'd go see the keepers of the sacred bit-beasts hoping to find out what's going on.

Anyway, sorry about the wait, love you all!!

Please R&R


	29. This is your life

Hello everyone, I have had a few days to really concentrate on this fic and I finally know how I'm getting to my final point, I always knew the ending but I was having real block on getting there. There are about ten more chapters to this story and there will be no sequel because this is already a sequel!!!!! Ask for more and I shall write something anti Kai/Hil… ok, I probably can't do that but I will do something mean… I don't know what yet but I'll think of something.

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

"Do you want to tell us what's going on here?" Johnny asked staring at Tala and Daichi, the two redheads looked at each other before turning back to stare at the newcomers, they both shook their heads.

"C'mon" Johnny urged impatiently "it's not like we go' all day!"

"Actually" Oliver cut in quickly "We sort of do! It is early morning and we have no plans…" Johnny gave Oliver a look and immediately the green haired man laughed and nodded "Sorry, figure of speech, my mistake!"

"Right" Robert turned back to the guilty looking pair and asked "well are you going to explain to us why you're both talking as though Hilary is still alive?"

"Because she is" everyone turned to stare at Kai as he walked towards them "I don't know why you're here but you better get inside before you announce to the whole world what's going on."

Spinning around Kai didn't bother looking back to ensure that they were following him.

Walking after him Tala sighed, they were planning on keeping this whole thing a secret so he couldn't really condone more people finding out about all this. He wasn't even sure if this all counted as a secret when half the people they knew was in on it. At his rate they might as well take out an ad in the papers telling the world that Hilary was back in the land of the living.

--

Hilary sat nervously in the bed fidgeting with the sheets, Dr Kim had been sweet and helpful and talking to him had been easy as she wasn't worried about offending him or being expected to remember him. Now two girls had been escorted into the room and they were watching her hopefully for some sign of recognition.

She didn't know them at all, one had shocking pink hair gathered up in a ponytail and seemed rather large, her stomach stuck out quite far compared to the tiny waists that she had seen so far, she carried a large round box that made her seem twice as big, she was watching Hilary warily. The other girls was taller and had long flowing blond hair, she was slim and wore a large smile.

"Hi" Hilary muttered nervously, she was searching the very depths of her brain to try and remember something about them but nothing came up.

"Hi, I'm Tia… that's my nickname, I'm Theodora really. I just really hate my name."

"Is Theodora a bad name?" Hilary asked timidly, it wasn't a really pretty name as far as she could tell but she liked it.

"Not really, you just get teased a lot as a kid if you're name is a bit different." Tia smiled reminiscently and Hilary just nodded before turning to look at Maria.

Hilary turned her gaze to the other girl as she spoke "I'm Mariah" the girl with pink hair and a large stomach smiled at her "you and I were…, are pretty much best friends"

"Hi" Hilary smiled as politely as she could. "Sorry about… not remembering you." It seemed to be a little redundant as far as apologies go, but then she didn't really remember all that many apologies.

"It's alright" Maria's smile was false and the pretence made Hilary want to apologise again.

"You don't know us" Tia said easily as she sat beside the bed "But we now you, and we care about you, that's the important thing."

"Yeah" Maria nodded enthusiastically holding up the box with a smile "that's why we have this"

"A…" Hilary paused staring at the box, realisation of what it was dawned on her "A… hat?"

"No, a hatbox" Maria corrected her.

"Um…. Thanks!" Hilary gave her an odd look, how was that going to help?

"It's what's inside that's important" Tia explained when she saw her confusion "When we heard that you might have lost your memories we started getting loads of stuff together"

Hilary watched as the two young women opened up the box and began pulling items out

"Do you want to start in your childhood or more recent times? The more recent stuff is exciting but it might be a good idea to go right to the beginning. We have baby pictures and everything!!"

"Um… the beginning then… if you think that would be best" Hilary decided quickly, it appeared to be the right thing to say as Mariah immediately pulled out a picture and brandished it in her face.

"This is a picture of you as a baby all those other people in it are your family!"

--

Walking through the house Max smiled happily to himself, Hilary was awake and in a few moments he was going to be able to see her again. Tia had decided that Max would be one of the first to see Hilary again seeing as how they were very close and Tyson Ray and Kai were busy with the Majestics. He was just about to round a corner when he heard an infuriated sound come from the next room, it sounded like Millie… moving towards the door he stood listening carefully.

"_I don't know what happened, why don't you guys just ask Dr Kim?" _there was a long silence and then Millie made the angry noise again before hissing angrily _"I don't care that you guys are holding this over me but I will not do anything that may get any one that I care about into any trouble. I will not just blindly obey you."_

Frowning in anger Max flung the door open and walking into the room stated accusingly "What's going on Millie?"

The girl jumped snapping her phone shut and shoving it into her pocket "Nothings going on!" Millie laughed falsely "Nothing more than usual"

"Millie?" Max stared at her feeling angry "Why are you lying to me?"

"I…I'm not" Millie blushed knowing that just by saying that she was lying to him again

"Millie" Max sat down next to her with an expression of sadness "I wish I could say that I always know when you lie, that way I'd be able to catch you our right now. I just can't say that though. You lied to me for ages letting me think my friend had died…"

"That's not fair!" Millie responded hurt by his words "I didn't tell you because I knew it would hurt you if I was wrong! I was protecting you. It wasn't a lie, it was just an… omission!"

"An omission of truth is just as bad as a lie, you kept secrets from me," Max sighed heavily remembering Emily "I can't cope if you have secrets from me."

"Max people always have secrets, sometimes they're secrets they don't even realise they have." she told him sadly, she truly hated lying to him but she knew it was necessary

"I don't care, Millie" he looked her right in the eye "I need you to be totally honest with me"

"Max…"

Taking hold of her shoulder he continued staring at her "Promise me you'll never lie to me, or keep secrets from me again."

There was a long silence as they stared at each other then Millie shook her head "I don't make promises I can't keep."

There was a long silence until finally Max let go of her practically pushing her away "Fine" Max stood and walked away from his girlfriend

"Please Max" Millie begged jumping to her feet and running after him grabbing his arm she pulled him back "I don't want to lie or keep secrets from you but sometimes… sometimes it's necessary."

"I've got to go, I promised Tia I'd hang around until Hilary was ready to see me." Max's voice was cold as he spoke and yanking his arm away he walked without a backwards glance quickly away from her.

Millie watched him go feeling broken hearted, she shuddered a little but the buzz from her jeans pocket soon called her back to her senses, pulling out a light blue phone she pressed a button and held it to her ear "What?"

"_Is that any way to address your superior?"_ a voice teased

-

As soon as the Majestics had been filled in on the story they insisted on seeing a few things, Robert wanted to make sure that Lando, Kendall and Boris were all still alive, Johnny wanted to see the damage Kai had done, Oliver was interested in the way Millie had worked out where the bad guys had gone. Daichi Tala and Kai decided they would escort them and give them the grand tour of their base.

"Kai!" Renaldo smiled at the Russian as he came into the warehouse "how've you… Enrique?" Renaldo grinned at his old friend "Good to see you"

"Renaldo" Enrique nodded "What happened to you staying out of trouble?"

"I'm not in trouble" Renaldo defended himself quickly "I'm helping out an old friend and Hilary was a sweet girl, she deserved better!"

"Well you're right there" Enrique agreed "I'll let you off this time but you better not have done any of the torturing."

"That was all Kai and us Blitzkrieg Boys." Tala reassured the Majestic frowning a little as he realised how bad that actually was. "Perhaps I shouldn't be so proud of that!"

Johnny was about to say something else when a ringing noise came from Kai's pocket interrupted them. He held up a hand and pulled out the phone….

"Tyson?" Kai asked seeing caller ID "Just a sec…." Kai pressed a button and spoke tersely into the phone "Tyson?"

"_Not really…"_

"You….!" the voice was smooth, familiar, Kai growled as he heard it, Tala Daichi and the Majestics turned to face him. Suddenly Kai remembered what had happened to Tyson's phone when they were in America. "What the hell do you want?"

"_Is that any way to speak to family?"_

"What's wrong Kai?" Tala asked seeing the look on his friends face

"I'm going to destroy you" Kai hissed down the phone to his grandfather "I am going to make you pay for what you did to her and once I've done that, I'm going to hurt you some more"

"Do you think it's Voltaire?" Daichi hissed questioningly to Tala

"Might be Horatio" he whispered back

"_I wouldn't make threats if I were you" _another voice spoke up and Kai became even angrier

"You two are the worst men to have ever existed, I am going to annihilate you and every thing you've ever done. You're life's work will be obliterated to the point where no one will even care to remember you."

"Both of them" Daichi answered his own question with a sad shake of his head "If I were them I'd have gone into hiding"

"Yeah. Kai's going to murder them for sure now he's seeing Hilary like she is."

"_Keep insulting us and we may not help you"_ Horatio said smoothly

"What makes you think I either need your help or would accept it?" Kai yelled down the phone "Everything you two do is for yourselves, you don't care about me or Hilary"

"_No but we do want something from you both and we can return Hilary's memories to her"_

"What?" Kai's change in tone and expression was so swift that it almost didn't seem possible, the others in the room watched him carefully wondering what was being said.

"_Hilary's memories can be easily returned to her, you just have to know the right…"_

"NO!" Kai yelled into the phone his anger getting the better of him "I know what you want from Hilary and I don't care what lies you want to tell me I will not let you get anywhere near her. I don't care if she never remembers me, or never loves me again, I will not let you hurt her." With that Kai slammed the phone shut and throwing it to the floor stamped down on it repeatedly trying to rid himself of his anger.

"You do realise that the number is still active and the card's probably fine?" Tala told him nervously

"I don't give a damn" every word he said was punctuated by a stamp down on the cell.

"What did they say?" Enrique asked Kai a little nervously

"They want Hilary, they say they can return her memories, make her healthy… I could arrange to meet them… maybe I should see them… maybe there's a way" Kai shook his head trying to sort out his thoughts, he was breaking up, he wanted so badly to help Hilary but he had absolutely no trust in his grandfather… and quite rightly so!

"No!" Oliver jumped in quickly "Don't! Hilary wouldn't want that and our bit beasts are still working on her. Please!!"

"Why are you so determined about this" asked Robert watching his green haired team mate as he jumped forwards and grabbed Kai's arm.

"I have faith in out bit beasts" the young man declared passionately "And so should we all! I personally will not let you do anything until our bit beasts return to our beyblades. I'm sticking around and I won't let anything happen until then… do any of you remember the number of the hotel we usually stay in?" he pulled out his phone and began searching the memory.

"Just look it up on the internet," Enrique suggested "Oh! Try get me the room I had when I was last there, I have good memories of that room!"

"Looks like we're sticking around for a while" Robert assumed happily "I'll call my butler and get our things to the hotel"

"Look you guys can leave you know. If your bit beasts travelled across the ocean once I'm sure they can do it again!" Tala informed the team "What ever happens now will be rough, it's only gonna get worse. This is going to be a real fight."

Oddly enough at this Johnny laughed at this, when everyone looked at him confusedly he simply shrugged saying "I'm a Scot, you know what they sae aboot us!"

"Not really no." Daichi shook his head

"The Sco'ish were born figh'in" He grinned at him "and we don' back doon."

"I think Johnny speaks for all of us" Robert agreed "not the Scottish thing, but if Hilary is as important as my Griffolyon thinks she is then we're going to help you out, you're our friends… besides, we never got our full revenge on Boris and Voltaire."

-

"Well?" Voltaire questioned as he stared at the computer screen "Are they in Japan?"

"Yes…" Horatio nodded "I was always sure they would be but more than that they're at an old warehouse… I think that should be the first place we check out." Horatio printed off the detail and grinned at his friend "The fact that the ware house is supposedly storage owned by Renaldo an old Abbey… student."

"Indeed! Renaldo just keeps popping up these days, perhaps we ought to do something to put him down and make sure he stays down." The two men exchanged a quick look

-

"Thanks for all your help Max, Tyson" Hilary smiled nervously at the two boys, they were both very cute, Max had a real boyish charm and Tyson was a good looking guy with a very stable and caring aura. Neither of them were as attractive as Kai but she had to admit that she had been very fortunate with her attractive male friends.

Oddly enough no one had mentioned if she had a boyfriend yet… she shrugged it off, she was probably one of those unlucky forever single types.

"Not a problem Hils, we'll do anything to help you!!" Max grinned happily as he reached forward and hugged her.

"We're gonna get something to eat, you wanna come?" Tyson asked Hilary cautiously

"No." Hilary shook her head and picked up another album "I think I'm going to keep looking, see if I can find something that triggers something."

They left her to it hoping that she would find something, Kai obviously didn't want to go but Ray and Tia forced him out making Hilary laugh. Once she was alone Hilary allowed her true feelings to show, she felt scared, overwhelmed. Climbing to her feet Hilary stood holding a hand over her heart, it was odd how badly her heart hurt right now. Just staring at all those photos showing friends and families and being totally unable to remember any of it. There were pictures of her and the Blade Breakers dressed up for Halloween, they were all dressed as Pirates with the notable exception of Kai. He hadn't dressed up but oddly enough he looked just fine posing along with them… if you could call it posing in all the pictures he was just standing there like in almost every other photo, arms folded and looking cold. Occasionally he had a slight smile. Looking down at the pirate picture again Hilary noticed that in this one he seemed to be smiling, she stared closely at herself.

She wore a hat, jacket, sword and boots like the boys but she sported a short skirt that looked… well… sexy! If she did say so herself, did she used to care about looking sexy?

She stared down and suddenly a sharp pain shot through her head, she only just managed to hold in her scream as the pain got worse concentrating on the front of her head and spreading until it felt unbearable. The picture that she held fell to the floor the glass in the frame smashing as she dropped to her knees cradling her head in her hands. She gritted her teeth sucking in her breath and grunting in pain 'Kai' she muttered weakly, she knew she needed to get more attention but she felt unable to speak louder. It was as though her pounding head would hurt even more if she called out.

Thankfully unconsciousness took over and gasping out a last desperate plea for help Hilary collapsed to the floor.

-

"What's up doc?" Daichi asked as he entered the kitchen to find a very frustrated Dr Kim looking through books.

"Just… stuff. There's a lot to do and I've got to give Hilary this drink" Dr Kim muttered stirring it whilst trying to read the book he had been given. "It's filled with vitamins and minerals that she's going to need as she recovers. Damn it!" the doctor spilt some of the tea onto the book as he spoke, he hadn't been paying enough attention to what he was doing

"Let me do that" Daichi offered immediately, "You've got better things to do" Dr Kim gave him a grateful look and handed over the mug.

"Thanks, I've got to do loads of research if I'm ever going to work out how Hilary managed to regain her memories the first time."

"Well I hope you find something" the red head spoke hopefully, Hilary needed to remember stuff soon. From the sounds of it Robert and the others thought Voltaire would be coming after them soon and this wasn't the safest place to be.

Walking back to the rooms that had been allocated as 'Hilary's recovery rooms' to find Hilary Daichi grinned to himself, so far everyone had kept him away from the young woman apparently trying not to overload her with information. They seemed to think that introducing her to too many people would short circuit her brain or something.

"Hils?" he called out hopefully, there was no response "Hilary?" walking down the hallway he was surprised to hear a pain filled moan come from one of the rooms. Hurrying to the door he knocked politely before entering "Hils?"

Upon seeing the girl lying slumped on the floor Daichi dropped the mug not caring as the liquid splashed over his legs, quickly he ran forward and dropped to his knees beside her. "Damn it" he cursed lifting her shoulders up and staring into her face "HILS?! Someone get in here!!" he looked over his shoulder and yelled for help. Holding Hilary close he shook her gently trying to get a response, after a few seconds she moved groaning softly.

Slowly Hilary shifted trying to sit up and her eyes fluttered open briefly "Daichi?"

"Yeah, don't worry, someone else will be here soon. KAI! TYSON! SOMEONE!!" Hilary's eyes closed again as Daichi cried out again.

"My head hurts…" Hilary muttered letting her head roll to rest on Daichi's shoulder as footsteps came pounding down the hallway.

* * *

R&R


	30. Wake up

Hey guys, short but effective here! This chap is not as detailed as I usually like mine to be but but I am soo busy right now.

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

The phone in Millie's pocket rang a cheery tune but it made her frown in annoyance, she hoped that it would be Max but she was pretty sure it wouldn't be, he hadn't called her in a few days. She pulled it out groaning in disgust as caller ID confirmed that the caller was the person she thought it was. Maria and Tia were in the same room as her discussing baby stuff and didn't notice as she slipped out of the room to answer the call somewhere where she wouldn't be heard.

"What?" she snapped down the phone

"_It's good to talk to you again"_

"Shut up Agent Oxley, I'm only still in touch with you because I have no choice in this. What do you want?"

"_I need to get in to see Hilary, I know that Dr Kensall has given his report but MI5 have a vested interest in…"_

"No!"

"_You have no choice…"_

"I have no chance" she argued back, "Hilary is watched 24/7, if I try to let anyone in here to see her or help get her away they'll be onto me in seconds. I am telling you, there is no way I can get you near Hilary. Dr Kim will back me up on this if you ask him. I'm assuming that Jake doesn't know quite how interested you are in her condition or you could send him to visit with no problem."

"_Very well"_ the man on the end of the line sighed unhappily _"you will continue to assist the doctor any way you can and I want a full report from you as soon as possible!"_

Millie sighed as she hung up the phone, upon discovering her credentials as a hacker and her third misdemeanour with computer hacking the head agent they had met in Russia had no problem with 'recruiting' her. She either did as he said and reported to him regularly or got thrown into jail and now to top it all off she felt like she was losing her boyfriend.

Things just couldn't get worse right now!

Just then a yell came from further within the house "KAI! TYSON! SOMEONE!!"

--

"She's unconscious again" the doctor spoke cautiously as he finished examining the seemingly lifeless young woman "I am afraid I cannot tell you anything hopeful or otherwise. We are in uncharted territory with Hilary, something is happening inside her right now that no medical person can understand."

"I think we can safely assume that the bitbeasts are still at work" Kai mustered stroking Hilary's hand as he stared down at her.

"I think right now they are our only hope"

"I wonder if it was her connection to Galux that helped her regain her memories in the first place" Maria bit her lip in thought "I mean, back then all that needed to happen was for her to regain her memories and according to what Brady told us it happened over a long period of time, maybe it will work again."

"The fact that she woke up this time was a miracle, don't get your hopes up too high" Dr Kim discouraged them all. He didn't want to but he knew as all doctors did that you shouldn't allow people to look forward to something that may never happen. After a fre mintues of silence they all slowly went back to how things had been before, Tia and Maria would talk and plan, the boys would work most of them had real jobs, most of those that didn't spent their time either at Renaldo's warehouse or honing their Beyblade skills at the house as security over Hilary. Thanks to the software Millie and Kenny set up they could keep an eye on the movements of people in and out of the country and they were ready for the moment Voltaire and Horatio made their move.

For five hours Kai sat by her bed again, he was so angry he wanted to hit something.

"Hey Kai!" Daichi smiled nervously at the older man "Look, I just want you to know that I didn't do anything to make her collapse, she was down when I got there."

"I know" Kai nodded and gave him a small smile "I never thought it was your fault."

"Do you know what the girls told her? About her life, did they get very far? Did they tell her about me?"

"Probably, Max Tyson and Ray all talked to her and that picture she was holding when we got to her had you in it."

"Oh yeah" for a second Daichi felt disconsolate, he had hoped that Hilary had remembered him but now it would appear he was wrong.

"Look Daichi" Kai sighed as he spoke "I'm going to go have a shower, would you stay with Hilary?"

"Are you sure?" Daichi questioned flattered by this show of trust. He and Kai weren't exactly close but then not many people could claim to be close to Kai, still it was a nice gesture on Kai's part.

"Yeah" Kai nodded, he had returned from the warehouse where he had received the infuriating phone call to find angry emails on his computer from the man who was currently watching over his business and then heard Daichi's yells for help and discovered Hilary unconscious once more. It had been a stressful couple of hours and he needed to stop and think. He was now more tempted than ever to go to his grandfather. He knew a long shower would help him to think and in time to relieve his mind. He trusted Daichi to at least call for help if anything happened and Tyson was with Robert battling it out in the back garden.

"Alright, I'll watch over her" Daichi nodded looking away and giving Kai some privacy as he bent down to kiss Hilary.

Kai gave his girlfriends cheek a tender caress before he stood and walked out of the room.

Sitting in Kai's now vacant seat Daichi stared down at the woman he had always considered his elder sister/mother figure. He had really missed her.

"Hils, I don't know if it's coming back to you" Daichi whispered to her "but I know you're going to remember stuff eventually, so I'm not gonna just let this stop, I'm not gonna let you sleep and not carry on reminding you of stuff. Ok?" There was no response but he felt as though she was listening. "I've been wanting to talk to you for a while but I don't know where to start…, that picture you were holding, I was in it, it was Halloween…."

"_Kai hasn__'__t even dressed up!__"__ Tyson jeered pointing at where the cold Russian stood dressed in his normal everyday clothes. "How can he come to a fancy dress party not in fancy dress?"_

"_They'll let him in whatever he's wearing" Daichi complained angry at the fact that in this life people that looked like Kai could do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted._

"_Leave it guys__"__ Hilary laughed, __"__You__'__re both just pissed cos he made no effort and still looks better than you!__"_

"_Oooh Hilary thinks Kai looks good!__"__ Tyson teased_

"_You really love him__"__ Daichi sang __"__You want to date him__"_

"_Kiss him and Marry him__"__ Max was joining in now_

_Worried that Hilary would turn violent if the teasing continued Ray shook his head and was about to say something when Hilary laughing put up a hand in concurrence_

"_Ok Tyson if that__'__s what you want to hear, then I'll say it, out of all you guys the only one I__'__d ever consider __**Kissing**__, __**Dating **__or __**Marrying **__is Kai, lets face it he__'__s the hottest__"__ Laughing at their astounded faces Hilary just moved over to Ray saying __"__No offence__"_

"_None taken!__"__ Ray shrugged laughing as well, he really had expected her to hit them but this made them shut up a hell of a lot quicker._

"_Photo time little dudes!__"__ Tysons Grandfather walked into the room brandishing a camera __"__if you want Kai in it you have to pose by him cos we know that homie aint gonna move for the picture__"_

_Everyone ran to pose by Kai with the exception of Tyson who ran around the room yelling that he__'__d lost his parrot._

_Hilary remembering that Kai had given his opinion of Tyson__'__s prop as a stupid and ugly waste of fabric turned to give him a curious look._

_Staring straight ahead Kai pretended not to notice the brunette turn and start staring at him, finally realising that she was just gonna keep staring he looked down. She raised an eyebrow silently asking him if he had done anything. Kai pretended to look offended then a small smile crept onto his lips, he snapped his head back up and looked away. Laughing Hilary turned around telling Tyson to get his ass into frame before the picture was taken._

_A few seconds later they were all posed and the flash went off_

Hilary sat up gasping, it was almost as if she had been unable to breathe while she lay there. She shivered as she tried to understand what she had just seen, had it been a memory or a simple imagining of what could have happened?

She remembered someone talking to her while she slept, someone had been telling her things, talking to her and she vaguely remembered…

What did she remember?

"Hils?" the voice beside her was nervous, hesitant

"Daichi!" She gave a breathless laugh when she saw him "For a second I couldn't work out where I was…what's wrong?"

"Are you feeling OK?"

"I'm fine but…" she looked around her "where exactly am I? This looks like Tyson's…"

"I-I need to… I better go… get… someone… give me a sec" standing as he spoke Daichi turned and fled to the door once there he turned back saying "Don't move"

"Well that was weird!"

-

"That was good!" Robert said as he called his Beyblade back to his hand "It's been ages since I played without my bit beast"

"Me too, it's nice to know we've got some of our own talents as well as the ability to use our bit beasts."

"Yeah, I kind of forgot how good I am on my own" Robert grinned as Tyson gave him a look "I'm allowed to be arrogant if I want to be. I did just beat you."

"Your head is already too big to fit through most double doors" Tyson spat back good naturedly. "Besides we won one game each."

"Mine was infinitely more impressive." Robert boasted right back with a small smile.

Stuffing their beyblades back into their respective pockets Robert and Tyson headed back inside the dojo, each of them missing the faint gleam that came from the centre of their beyblades and the small symbol that returned to where it belonged.

-

Kai had been pissed when Daichi pounded on the bathroom door only giving him a spilt second to pull on a robe before he came crashing in. It made him even angrier when the redhead wouldn't say what had happened only telling Kai to go see Hilary now!

Still wearing his robe Kai skidded down the corridors rushing to get to Hilary's side, once at the door he paused and then slid it to the side.

-

"I need the deliveries to be made to Elgin street this afternoon" Renaldo lay back on his chair shifting so he could get a better look at his TV screen, they were running a Starsky and Hutch marathon and he was currently enjoying the last of the first season whilst making his orders. 'totally saw that coming' he muttered as the final solving of the crime began "Can you make sure that the club on Chilkwell has the same order only flip the Bitter Lemon order around with the Bombay Sapphire, yeah… that's the last of them… ok thanks very much" Stretching as he placed the phone down Renaldo shifted to begin the rest of his paperwork, the noise from the TV making a suitable back up, he had seen all these shows before but he liked to have something else on the TV or Radio whilst he worked.

A smashing of glass made him look up, the final shootout hadn't even begun yet… that noise hadn't come from the TV. Pulling open his desk drawer he removed a berretta from it, checking to make sure it was loaded he stood slowly and made his way towards the door. Pulling a radio from his pocket he contacted his security guard

"Coley? Coley?" the line buzzed but there was no response from the other end.

Renaldo set his jaw firmly, if Coley was out it made sense that the rest of his guards in this place were down as well. He knew of exactly two reasons why someone would break in here, one would be to steal merchandise but most of those people would be too smart to attempt on attack on this place, half the stuff here was already hot and the rest of it they'd be totally unable to sell illegally. It ultimately wasn't worth effort what with all the security he had and he only hired the best, they wouldn't have been taken down by a load of two bit crooks… he was watching way too much Starsky and Hutch.

The only other reason someone would have to break in here would be to come after his three prisoners.

If that was the case then he needed to be really careful, whoever had been sent after Boris would probably be just a cruel and calculating as he was. There was no point calling anyone in to help, Kai and the others were too far away to get here in time, the police would probably spend more time processing his stock than they would chasing after his unofficial prisoners.

He was on his own for this one.

--

What the hell had Daichi meant when he said to stay there? Why had he looked so baffled? And why was she lying on this bed?

Hilary sighed… nothing here made sense…

To her left a door opened and immediately she turned to face the entrance. What she saw made her smile brightly.

"Kai! I missed you!"

Panting from his brief run, hair dripping wet and wearing something that he was not used to wearing in public Kai stood frozen in the doorway. For a long time he just stared at the brunette sitting up in the bed and smiling at him "Hilary?" walking forward he placed the bottle of shampoo (which for some reason) he still held on the floor before walking towards the bed "You missed me? You missed me when?"

"What?" She gave him an odd look "What are you talking about, when did you get back from Russia and… don't I get a kiss?"

"Hilary?" more hopeful than ever Kai moved towards the bed and taking Hilary's hands in his stared nervously into her eyes "Do you remember me? What am I to you? How do you feel about me?"

Confused Hilary tilted her head to one side and stared at him, why was he asking her all this? Saring into his eyes she soon saw that he was actually being deadly serious "Silly…" taking one of her hands from his and placing it on his cheek Hilary smiled at him simply saying "I've told you time and time again, I love you."

* * *

Ok, so her memories of her old life are **finally** back, Hilary is back to normal, well…, almost! But is Boris about to escape because he is not likely to let the Blitzkrieg Boys get away with what they did to him.


	31. I love you

Yes, it finally happened, after nearly a year Kai and Hil were reunited (well about seven months in the story but a year for us sorry about that!) but new problems are arising and all is not as simple as it may seem!

* * *

"_Hilary?" more hopeful than ever Kai moved towards the bed and taking Hilary's hands in his stared nervously into her eyes "Do you remember me? What am I to you? How do you feel about me?"_

"_Silly…" Hilary smiled taking one of her hands from his and placing it on his cheek said simply "you know I love you."_

* * *

Upon hearing her admission the look in Kai's eyes changed, he gazed at her in shock before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her off the bed into his arms. Hilary yelped at the suddenness of his actions but laughed as he buried his head in her neck and tightened his hold on her. Slowly his lips found her skin and she felt rather than heard him talking. Moving back she gave him an enquiring look

"What did you say?"

Kai pulled himself away from her and staring into her eyes whispered "I love you too." Smiling widely Hilary wrapped her arms around him again as he moved to sit on the bed still holding her close. He loved her, he really loved her, she didn't care about his wet hair marking her shirt she just held him.

"You're acting so strangely" Hilary told him staring at him in complete confusion "Like you haven't seen me in ages. You've only been in Russia for a little while. Anyone would think you thought we'd never see each other again or something…"

"Don't" he begged his voice harsh and his breathing ragged "Don't say that, just for now let me hold you. We'll talk later, I'll tell you everything then."

"Alright" Hilary nodded happily as they settled comfortably on the bed "I missed you, you know." She whispered running her fingers through his wet hair and kissing his forehead gently

"I missed you too" he whispered back trying not to totally lose control as he held her again feeling her hold him back. "I missed you so much."

Frowning Hilary wrapped her arms around Kai, she didn't understand why he was acting like this but something had obviously happened to him, something that had hurt him and… had he really just said he loved her? She might have imagined that… but she didn't think so. He had never said that before, whatever had happened to him, it must have been big!

She held Kai letting him doze in her arms, he seemed exhausted for some reason, she decided to lay with him until he was sound asleep then she'd go get something to eat, man she was hungry!

--

Renaldo moved carefully through the building trying not to do anything that would get anyone's attention and alert them to his position. He wasn't nervous, he could handle himself and he'd been in so many other life threatening situations in his life that he didn't even breathe differently as he walked towards the cell they had rigged up for the three men.

-

Boris's jaw had tightened as he heard the cell door open, all three men remained tied to chair in order to keep them from escaping. The irony of the situation was not lost on him, he had held the Blitzkrieg boys in a similar way himself to say nothing of how hard it had been to keep Hilary in place. As it was Boris knew that if he was untied he wouldn't know the first thing about attempting an escape. Tala and the other Blitzkrieg Boys had gotten out of the abbey so many times he had forgotten most of their different attempts, Hilary had been no different it was only because the place she was held in had been surrounded by dogs that they managed to keep her.

"How the mighty have fallen"

Boris grinned at the familiar voice "I should have known you'd love this" he murmured angrily "Are you going to untie me at all?"

"Well I have to admit that I've always found it easier to talk to people when they're tied up but…" the person walked forward puling a knife from their belt "I was sent here with the express command to release you. After all, we have lots of work to do" as she spoke the last sentence she sliced through the ropes holding Boris down.

"I can't wait" Standing he shook off the ropes that had held him for so long and turned to stare at the dark haired woman behind him. "After you, Dr K…"

"Of course," the doctor moved forward and sliced through the ropes holding the other two and slowly, moving stiffly Kendall and Lando got to their feet

"First I want to get the guy that's keeping us here" Lando spat angrily, his pride had been most hurt by all this, Kendall had reacted in fear, Boris had been oddly calm but he had really been angered by what they had been through. Death would have been preferable for him but instead he had to endure humiliation and imprisonment.

"Not now" Dr K ordered looking so stern that none of the men even thought about arguing with her. "We have our orders, but don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to get back at anyone you can think of later." She smirked as she thought about it, she was still mad at Hilary for being able to knock her out, she couldn't hurt the girl physically but she was looking forward to hurting her emotionally. "Lets get out of here before anyone else shows up" Dr K led the three men out of the building and into her awaiting car, they were just driving away when Dr K took the turn too sharply and hit a window in the front of the building

"Women drivers" Kendall hissed to Lando earning a smug chuckle from his team mate.

-

By the time Renaldo arrived at the cell where he had kept his prisoners tied securely the group was long gone. He stood looking around him his jaw set in an angered expression.

First thing was first, he needed to see what had happened to his security detail, then he'd call Kai.

-

Max and Kenny sat together in Tyson's back garden, there was a companionable silence in the air that both boys appreciated, Max was thinking things through in his mind, he and Millie were not speaking to each other right now, it really bugged him that at a time he needed to depend on her she was becoming more and more distant. Kenny appreciated the silence because it meant he could get more work done, Max was one of the few people he could trust to completely understand that when Kenny didn't want to talk he just wouldn't talk. If he was available for conversation he would state that as the case but when he was silent, he needed silence.

Silence may be golden, but it doesn't always last and the silence for them was broken by two young men that had spent the afternoon at the gym after their beybattle.

"Hey Chief" not caring what he was interrupting Tyson threw himself down beside the brunette and stretched his arms out "I was wondering if you could look at Dragoon for me, I have a few recalibrations I need to make and you know how to do it better than I do"

"Sure just put him there and I'll get to him in a sec" Kenny nodded towards the box of Beyblade parts that stood closed in front of him, he tapped away at his computer answering important emails and checking up on various things, he skimmed through his emails trying to ignore the one that informed him that the story on , that he'd been waiting for for a while, had finally been updated. He just knew that if he went onto the site he'd get distracted by another story and waste a good few hours reading and reviewing. Kenny was a conscientious fella, he always reviewed.

Tyson pulled the Beyblade out of his pocket and tossed it onto the lid of the closed box.

"Anything interesting going on?" Robert asked looking down at the Chief

"Nothing right now" Kenny shrugged off the question, unlike Max the two new people kept trying to engage him in conversation so he gave up what he had been doing previously and reached forwards to pick up Dragoon.

"Alright lets get a good look at…." Kenny trailed off staring at the centre of Tyson's Beyblade, his mouth dropped open and his mind began to fill with questions and hope.

"What's up Chief?" Tyson asked as he and Max looked down at the bespectacled man "Kenny?"

"Kenny?"

--

When Kai awoke he was alone, immediately he felt the pain he so often felt when he awoke to discover Hilary gone. A dream… wait a second… Sitting up he immediately took note of where he was, he was alone but he was alone in the same bed where Hilary had lain in when she was unconscious.

Swinging his legs around he jumped off the bed and rushed through the house, his first port of call was a nearby bathroom but it was empty, as he exited the room he could smell the scent of toast coming from the kitchen. Running down the hallway he arrived in the kitchen to find Hilary sitting at the table drinking tea with a plate of toast in front of her. She looked up as he arrived smiling sweetly to welcome him, for a split second it was like everything that had occurred had never happened.

As he stood staring at her she took a sip of her drink and asked "Hey, are you alright?"

Instead of replying Kai walked around the table and pressed his lips to hers in a forceful kiss, as their mouths opened and they simultaneously allowed their tongues to meet she tasted of tea for obvious reasons but her other taste was there, that inimitable flavour that he'd tasted in Hilary every time they kissed. She didn't complain, she willingly accepted his kiss only arguing when their rough movements knocked over her drink.

"Kai!"

He didn't listen, he just kissed her again wrapping his arms around her in such a tight embrace that Hilary would have cried out in pain, had he not been kissing her.

In this moment Kai was once again happy, he ran his fingers through her soft hair, it was longer but still felt just as silky he remembered it. He cradled her head with his hands marvelling at how much shorter she seemed than him, he held her as though she was fragile, which in his eyes she was. He didn't want to hurt her but at the same yime he couldn't stop holding her tighter, pressing her closer. Their lips would seperate for seconds before connecting again and small groans escaped both party as they experienced a kiss like never before. He needed this, the contact, the feel of her, the taste, the sound. This lasted for several long minutes until finally Hilary managed to push him away.

"Kai?" brething heavily she moved back surprised "What's up with you? What's going on that I don't know about?"

"You…" he stared at her his face clearly showing his troubled state, tears were actually gathered in his eyes.

"What about me Kai?" worried now Hilary stood and pulled him towards a nearby chair, as soon as he was sitting down she knelt in front of him placing her hands on his lap "Tell me what happened, why I was in that bed."

"Hils…" he didn't know how to tell her, he didn't know how to start. "I love you"

She laughed "And I love you…, you really can't tell me what's happened can you?" she had flushed at his words but she knew there was more to say and she could ask him to tell her he loved her again at another point in time.

"I acted badly, when you were gone I…, I did things you won't be proud of. I messed up." The guilt from the way he behaved when she had 'died' was catching up with him. If there was one thing Hilary would be mad about when she was told everything would be the way he had gone looking for trouble, the fights, the drinking, the vengeance.

"Gone? When was I gone? I don't understand but… nor do I care," she told him gently kissing his hand "you've never done anything I can hate you for before, what's going to change that now?" Standing she moved to sit on his lap hugging him close. "What happened to you Kai? We were doing well together, you and I talked…" she shook her head unable to understand why he was acting this way "What made you go back to being so inarticulate?"

"You..." he stopped and was silent for a few minutes.

"Me?" she urged still smiling "What did I do?"

"You..., you died."

"What?" Hilary moved away slightly and stared at him "What are you talking about?"

"It's a long story."

Her voice had become serious at his words, her loving almost mocking tone disappeared and her face became solemn "I've got time" Hilary moved to get off Kai's lap but he wound his arms around her waist and held her tight.

"Don't move" he nuzzled her neck before taking a deep breath, he was about to begin when they were interrupted.

Half asleep from the nap he had just taken Tala walked into the kitchen and was mildly surprised to find Kai and Hilary sitting at the table. "Oh hey Tala!" Hilary grinned as she looked up at him, Kai merely looked at his team mate before burying his face in Hilary's neck again. He had a smirk on his face obviously enjoying the confusion of Tala.

"Hey guys" sitting at the table Tala looked at Kai and Hilary, there was something going on here, in his sleepy state he couldn't quite put his finger on what was so weird. Then it happened Kai chomped down on the toast and then offered the same slice to Hilary who smiling took a bite right from where he had bitten.

It was such a coupley thing to do Tala couldn't help but stare…, then his brain started working properly… when the hell had Hilary woken up?

"What in gods name….?"

"Hey Hils!" Daichi entered the room now, he too was completely unfazed by Hilary's new normalcy as he snagged a slice of toast from her plate "I was thinking of getting take away tonight, you cool with that?"

"It depends what it is, all that fast food isn't good for you" Hilary lectured amiably glad that one person wasn't treating her like she had just risen from the grave.

"Uh… guys?" Tala asked feeling confused, had everything that happened before been a dream? No, that was stupid, he shook his head, Kai was acting too lovey dovey for everything to have been false.

"I was gonna get Chinese but if you're on a healthy thing again there is a Thai place in town that's meant to be good."

"Alright, but tomorrow I'm making you a salad and you will eat every bit I put in front of you" as Hilary said this Tala laughed, as bossy as she was, it was good to have her back.

Further conversation was interrupted by a rather girlish scream "HE'S BACK!"

Kenny came racing into the room holding Tyson's Dragoon in his hand, he stared dumbfounded at Hilary before launching himself across the kitchen to hug her, unfortunately for all concerned Kai got caught up in the hug too and immediately pushed away. Kenny went sprawling whilst Hilary almost slipped from his lap, he caught her and placed her back onto his knee securely but the chief was soon followed by Max and Tyson and any further attempt at avoiding hugs would mean Kai letting go of Hilary and he wasn't going to do that.

In the end there was a sort of group hug with Max Tyson and Kenny hugging the quick to respond Hilary and the impassive Kai.

As far as Tala was concerned there had never been a better use for the camera phone and he mentally thanked the wonderful person who thought it up.

"Happy as I always am to see you I'd like to hear the full story now!" Hilary smiled at her friends before looking at Kai "Please?"

"What's up now?" Tyson asked glancing from Hilary to Kai

"She remembers us, but she doesn't remember what happened with her grandfather and Voltaire" as he spoke Hilary's eyes widened and she began to frown.

"What did they do?" Her voice threatening and cynical all of a sudden made Kai smile, still the same old Hilary!

* * *

What do you all think? Good? Bad? Somewhere in between? Just remember to be a conscientious person like our Kenny and review!

Please!!


	32. Into the fire

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

All the beybladers that had helped so far were gathered together at the Dojo, Dr Kim had given Hilary a full check up and the all clear despite some slight memory loss but ultimately that was better than full memory loss. Tala and the other Blitzkrieg boys and Ozuma had welcomed Hilary back a little less exuberantly than the Blade breakers but they had been pleased to see her none the less.

"Whoah Mariah you're huge!" At first all the girls had just stared at Hilary in shock as she welcomed them in the granger Dojo, after a few seconds of shocked silence screams pierced the air as the five girls began to jump around screaming, Hilary commented one Julia's new hair cut, Millie's tan, Tia and Miriam just generally looking good and finally she turned back to Mariah and repeated her first statement.

"Thanks" Mariah laughed "I am over eight months gone!"

The happiness stopped and Hilary suddenly remembered how long she'd been gone and how much was missing of her life "Sorry I'm still kind of… What's the date again?" Hilary asked quietly.

"February 5th"

"Right" Hilary nodded "I'd have said it was the 14th of August, my mental calendar can't quite register all this."

"You've been gone quite a while." Tia told her friend sympathetically

"Yeah" Hilary nodded sorrowfully and sat down on the nearest chair, Kai moved to sit next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Hilary clutched it gratefully but didn't look up, she just stared down at the ground.

"So what's the last thing you remember?" Millie enquired nervously

"Well…" Hilary frowned thinking hard "Tyson and I were playing on the play station, it was a beyblading game, we'd just finished eating Arelam's ice cream… if she asks though I won't admit to that. Arelam's pretty strict with her ice Cream. I aint dying more than once this year." Hilary gave an uneasy laugh as did a few others but most people just focussed on what she was saying.

"Anything more?" Kai urged

"Uh… there was a noise…" Hilary paused and her brow became furrowed as she tried to remember "we chased after someone with Hiro… we were above the water, I remember seeing it crashing below me…" fear filled her voice as she continued "I remember falling... you were there" she turned to face Tyson "trying to keep hold of me. I...I let go…" trembling Hilary closed her eyes as she tried to remember more "the water was cold... really cold... there was someone in the water with me, we were fighting..." Hilary sighed frustrated with herself "Nothing more, there's nothing more." She wasn't lying, she didn't remember anything more but she remembered fear, she remembered terrifying circumstances and being sure that she was going to die.

"I don't get why you remember everything but your imprisonment" Kenny said shaking his head, "all your memories have come back but the ones you got when you were prisoner, it doesn't make sense!"

"The Bibeasts are what helped to return her memory, maybe they didn't see the need of her remembering that part of it." Ozuma suggested.

"It could be a fugue state" Hilary said quietly, Kai could feel her trembling as she spoke and wished they weren't having to talk about everything, he didn't like forcing her to talk about something that made her so upset.

"I was just thinking that" Dr Kim agreed with a nod "With what you've been through I wouldn't be surprised."

"What?" Everyone turned to face them but it was Hilary who got everyone's attention, Hilary sat on her chair her whole body tense, her brow was creased in thought as she stared at her hands.

"A fugue state, it's a medically recognised condition of selective memory loss," Dr Kim explained quickly "The mind knows that remembering the memories may damage the mind."

"Yes" Hilary nodded and took up the explanation "you see…. sometimes when something happens to you, something awful you don't want to remember it. Your mind actually runs from remembering it and doesn't allow you to even try. Sometimes it doesn't matter how much people want to remember it doesn't come back."

"With everything that's been going on in your mind recently I'm surprised you haven't suffered any other damage." Dr Kim admitted "I was beginning to worry that you'd be permanently brain damaged. You're a bit of a miracle."

"I guess" she agreed "but from what everyone's said the bit beasts are the ones that saved me."

"So it may be that you never remember what happened to you?" Kai asked gently

"No," it freaked her out that there were so many months missing from her life but she knew that Kai felt just as bad as he did. Squeezing Kai's hand gently Hilary looked up and smiled at him "But I remember you, all of you, if I could pick and choose the memories I could lose and keep, I know which ones I prefer."

Kai smiled back at her and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, as he did so his pocket buzzed informing him that he was being called. He groaned softly but pulled the device from his pocket and answered quite civilly to Renaldo. "What's up" there was a brief silence during which the cold hard look returned to Kai's face "What? When?" he barked tersely gripping Hilary's wrist with one hand "I'll tell the others, we'll move Hils somewhere safe straight away." He hung up and stood up still keeping Hilary's wrist in a firm grip "That was Renaldo, they've escaped."

Everyone in the room immediately reacted with anger and fear, only Hilary and Dr Kim were unsure what he was referring to, it was one part of the story they had brushed over "Who?" Hilary asked "Why do you need to move me?"

"Boris has escaped, we need to move you. Where can we take her that's safe?" he totally ignored Hilary's questions about 'where had Boris escaped from?' and focused on the others.

"The new BBA training centre" Tyson suggested "It's way out of town, Grandpa's there today with Hiro and Mr D, they can have that place locked down in no time at all. It'll be best if Dr Kim goes with her just in case she gets sick again."

"Alright" Kai agreed "Ray, can they use your car?"

"Sure, we'll get Hils **and** Mariah out the way" Ray agreed and no one argued with him it was understandable that he wanted his heavily pregnant girlfriend out of harms way.

"Ok, I'll come with you all and then we'll get back here and come up with some sort of a contingency plan." Kai agreed and there were positive nods around the room.

"Kai!" Hilary argued looking up at him "I can look after myself!"

"Hilary" Kai knelt in front of her and stared into her eyes "Please, let me get you somewhere safe, I can't lose you again." His eyes were filled with fear and Hilary could read them so well that it shocked her, the man that had once been able to hide anything he wanted from everyone was letting his fears show through. "Please" his voice broke as he begged one last time and Hilary nodded obediently.

"Alright, but I don't like you being in danger anymore than you like me being in danger. Promise you'll be careful"

"I promise" he agreed kissing her deeply.

-

"Are you alright?" Millie asked Renaldo feeling concerned

"Fine… I just can't believe they got past Cobey, he's going to be in hospital for a while and they managed to actually kill two of my guards, I'll have to see their families in a few hours"

"Do you need any help?" the blonde asked feeling bad for him

"I would like someone to come with me but… Millie what's wrong with you?" Renaldo noticed how the young woman seemed less cheerful than usual, he had heard from Tia that things weren't going well between her and Max.

"Nothing" Millie shook her head and smiled as cheerfully as she could.

"Millie do I look stupid to you?"

Millie smiled at the question and her eyes narrowed teasingly "Well…"

"That was a rhetoric question, Millie I can tell something's up"

"I… I can't tell you" she shook her head unhappily "If I do I won't be the only one in trouble. You could get arrested for this."

"What do you mean?" he frowned at her angrily "This is me, I held three guys prisoner and allowed them to be tortured and even helped with the torture, I can safely say that being arrested is not a thing that worries me."

"I guess…" Millie agreed nervously, she really did want to talk about everything with someone. Preferably she would like to talk with Max but Renaldo was right, he was always involved in criminal activities, maybe he could help her out.

"Well?" Renaldo urged

"I've told you about you my trouble with computer hacking right?"

"Yes"

"Well MI5 know about it as well, in fact they know so much about it that they know the stuff I did for you was my third strike and I'm a criminal, they threatened to report me and have me thrown in jail if I didn't keep in touch with them about Hilary's progress. They also know that everything you guys did was totally illegal and they have proof about you helping me, they'll find a way to hurt everyone, the Blitzkrieg Boys, the Blade breakers… I couldn't do that. Not when everything was going well. And if I tell everyone they won't have deniability, that's why I can't explain this to Max and everyone else."

"You could tell Max" he told her as though it was obvious "He's almost in as much trouble now anyway"

"But he doesn't know he is, I don't want to stress them all out with the idea that a prison sentence is hanging over them. I'm protecting them, I know it sounds bad but… I'm doing this for them."

"I don't know much about relationships but I do know that honesty is important, Max would want you to tell him about this"

"I just want to make sure he doesn't get hurt" Millie explained again before shaking her head and warding off any further questions with a tumble of blonde hair curtaining her face.

"Alright I'll leave it for now, but I'm gonna be bringing this up again as soon as the major stuff is sorted out. You know, the whole maniacs on the loose wanting to kill us stuff."

-

They were driving to the BBA when Ray made an exclamation of surprise and applied the brakes "What is it?" Kai asked as Ray slowed down and stopped in the middle of the road.

"An accident by the looks of things" Ray looked ahead at where a car lay on it's side with petrol leaking out onto the road.

"Keep driving" Kai ordered

"KAI!" Mariah exclaimed in shock "someone could be hurt, we have to help a little"

"Fine" Kai opened the door and climbed out of the car, Hilary followed him out but Kai turned to stop her "You stay here…, Ray?"

Ray nodded and followed Kai out of the car, together the two of them headed towards the crushed car. They walked forward cautiously worried that at engine would explode at any moment.

As they approached the car they both noticed that there were people in the car, one sitting in the driving seat and another on the passengers side.

Their humane side kicked in and they both ran forward opening the door and pulling the bodies from the car only to stop as they noticed who they had just saved

"Kendall?" Kai gasped staring down at the man, on Ray's side Lando's form was obvious, what was even more obvious was that the two men had not been killed by a car accident as each had bruising around their neck's. Looking up Kai's eyes met Ray's and they turned fearfully back to the car fearful and angry at what they saw.

Boris smirked as he held the gun to Mariah's head, he had them under his control now, this little group had no choice but to obey him. Kai, and Ray stood frozen, neither of them dared to make a move but it was obvious that if something didn't happen soon the eight months pregnant Mariah would be gone. Hilary just stood on her side of the car staring at her best friend and the man holding her hostage.

"You get out of the car" he hissed at Dr Kim and the doctor obeyed getting out on Hilary's side and standing beside her "Go stand with them" he ordered sending them over to stand next to Kai.

"Wait!" Hilary stopped and turned to face Boris "Look, it's me grandfather wants right?"

"That's right"

"So let go of her, I'll come with you instead." She begged her eyes staring into Mariah's wide ones

There was a long silence as Boris seemed to be contemplating Hilary's offer, after a little while he shook his head "No"

"But you don't need her" Hilary argued angry tears spilling down her cheeks "It's me you want. Let her go"

"I know I don't need her but I do know that you'll fight back, taking both her and you was part of the plan."

"What do you mean?" Ray asked curiously "Why do you want Mariah?"

"I don't, but with her in the car Hilary will behave herself" Boris smirked "you see I will be taking Hilary and Mariah with me. I already have Mariah but if Hilary doesn't come I will take this one and as soon as I am a safe distance away I'll kill her. If Hilary comes once I am a safe distance away I will release Mariah."

"Even you can't be so cold hearted as to kill her" Dr Kim argued

"Who're you?" Boris asked

"This is my doctor" Hilary explained briefly

"Fine, look who do you think killed those boys? And as for being cold hearted" Boris turned his gun and fired at Dr Kim "How's that?" the doctor fell to the ground fully silenced now.

Mariah had made a brief struggle since the gun was off her but soon the barrel was pressed against her cheek again. Shivering at the sight in front of him Ray turned to look at Hilary and was surprised to see the brunette smiling at him.

"Very well" Hilary stated calmly the small smile on her face growing as she turned to look at Boris "I will come"

"No" agonised Kai grabbed her arm "I can't….not again…." he stopped himself from saying what he was really feeling but Hilary seemed to understand and she took his hand

"It's my decision" she whispered "let me go Kai, I know you'll find me again" After kissing him gently she disengaged her arm from his hold and walked over to Boris's car.

"You're driving" Boris told her and she nodded climbing into the drivers seat, Mariah was pushed into the back and Boris followed.

Watching and feeling weak Kai and Ray just stood in the middle of the road as the car pulled away and drove off with their girlfriends inside.

Ray dropped to his knees and checked on the doctor but there was no pulse, shaking his head he stood to face Kai. Turning back to the other mess of a car Kai sighed "There's no way we can fix this" he muttered angrily

Ray turned and looked back the way they had come, "There was a service station back there, about two miles"

"Yeah I remember seeing that" Kai nodded

The two of them looked at each other, each knew what the other was feeling, a sense of helplessness and despondency settled over them. Walking in the direction in which they had seen the service station they remained silent, they didn't run they knew that there was no point in doing that, they didn't panic or get upset, they knew there was no point.

* * *

I decided to kill Dr Kim, Lando and Kendall off in this chapter as I really didn't want Kai and the others to get in trouble for the torture and they really don't do anything for the story from this point on. I also wanted to show how ruthless Boris can actually be, he hasn't been too evil yet. Three deaths in one chapter is pretty impressive I think.

I can only really kill off my own characters anyway.

Please R&R


	33. Saving yourself

As you all wanted this so quickly I stayed up till about four this morning so I could get it out to you today. I'm exhausted so I better get loads of reviews!!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

"We shouldn't have stopped" Ray muttered to himself as they sat at the Dojo, he and Kai had managed to get a taxi home and were now sitting surrounded by their sympathetic friends. "You said not to and I stupidly, stupidly…"

"You did what most people would do" Tyson tried to comfort his friend who had spent the entire time berating himself.

"He's right Ray" Kai agreed "Besides, Boris must have known where we were and where we were headed to set up that scene. If he'd known that he'd have merely followed us to the new BBA building and made his move once when we left them behind."

"Can you help us look for her?" Kai asked Renaldo hopefully but to everyone's surprise the young man shook his head

"My team's down and if Boris found you guys that easily then he's either got someone on the inside or he's listening to us, none of my stuff's trustworthy until we find out exactly how he followed you, besides, my computer systems went down, they must've uploaded a virus as they left, I got nothing"

Renaldo's hands were clenched into fists as he spoke. He wasn't used to not being able to help, he was the guy, the one everyone went to when they needed something, sure he had contacts but right now he couldn't trust them, one of them could have been the reason why Kai and Ray had been followed.

There was a moment of silence as everyone racked their brains for what to do next, finally a small voice spoke up from the corner of the room getting everyone's attention

"I think I know someone that can help" Millie said matter-of-factly pulling her phone from her back pocket and flipping it open. Within minutes she was talking tersely down the line. "I want Jake… get me Jake or I'll find a way of contacting him myself, I'm not a computer hacker for nothing!" this speech received some loud and colourful language from the other end of the phone, Millie said nothing and a short period of silence followed, finally Millie brightened up and began speaking down the phone line "Hilary's gone again, Boris has her and Mariah… We need to find them ASAP." She smiled as she nodded along with what the person on the other end of the line was saying before affirming that she'd follow the instructions and then she hung up.

"Luckily Jake Tatibana is in Japan, he's visiting Hils parents, he's on his way with a team now."

"How did you get in touch with him so quickly?" Max asked suspiciously

"It doesn't matter" Millie snapped angrily "Just let me deal with this, after all, you and I broke up." Turning on her heel Millie marched out of the room, she moved quickly not wanting anyone to see the tears in her eyes as she walked away from Max

--

Watching the road and following the directions barked at her from the back seat Hilary drove carefully down the long and deserted roads. They had briefly joined one of the main motorways but Boris had not been keen to be amongst the traffic. Obviously if someone saw the supposedly deceased Hilary Tatibana driving a car he thought they might get into trouble. Still they had been driving for ages, Hilary couldn't help but wonder were they were going and why they were driving for so long.

Looking into the mirror Hilary caught Mariah's eye for a moment and smiled, Mariah saw this and gave a slight nod.

"Don't you two try anything funny" Boris warned having seen the exchange

"I'm just making sure she's still ok" Hilary snapped back "How the hell did you find us anyway?"

"Well it was obvious you were at your friend Tyson's, we've been watching the place for weeks, there are bugs in almost every room to say nothing of the trackers on the cars."

Hilary frowned as she drove, how they had got the devices in she didn't know but it didn't matter now, all that mattered was Mariah and getting her to safety.

"Turn right up ahead" Boris told her and Hilary flicked the indicator and slowly obeyed. They turned onto another quiet road and then from the back she heard "Stop here." Applying the brakes Hilary brought the car to a standstill and turned in her seat to look at the two in the back seat.

"What now?"

"This is where we leave Mariah" Boris smirked as he opened the door next to him

"We can't just leave her here!"

"I think you'll find that it's not up to you" Getting out of the car Boris pointed his gun at the pink haired girl and slowly Mariah followed him. After they had gotten out Boris held out his hand "I know you had a phone with you"

Mariah reached into her back pocket and handed it to him

"We can't leave her here with no phone it's ages from anywhere" Hilary argued "she's pregnant for gods sake!"

"Shut the fuck up" Boris banged his hand on the car door making Mariah jump and effectively silencing Hilary

"I'll be fine" Maria lied trying to make Hilary feel better but as Hilary turned to look at her she could see that the brunette wasn't going to just let it go.

Hilary kept her eyes on her friend as Boris climbed back into the back seat, now pointing the gun at Hilary he hissed "drive"

Hilary leaned down to the handbrake, as she did so she looked at Mariah and mouthed the word "run" and with that Hilary slammed her foot down and the car shot away. Not really understanding why she had been told to run Mariah watched the car go then suddenly Boris leaned out to aim the gun at her and Mariah threw herself into the ditch by the roadside.

-

Dr K leaned back in her seat languidly twirling a piece of hair, at any minute now she was expecting Boris to arrive at their appointed destination with Hilary in tow and maybe with the pink haired idiot who'd managed to get herself knocked up by one of the blade breakers. The deal had been that he only let Mariah go if it was going to be safe to, personally she didn't think Hilary would behave at all without Mariah so she could help but hope that the man would have some common sense and keep Mariah with him.

He'd told her not to expect Lando or Kendall with him when he returned but he hadn't said why. All Dr K knew was that when it had been let slip that it was their fault Kai knew Hilary was alive she had known that the boys were in trouble. Neither Boris nor Voltaire tolerated failure, it was better to die obeying their strictures than to live and disobey them, she knew that herself. Thinking about this Dr K rubbed her arm where Voltaire had hurt her after Hilary escaped, he hadn't totally believed her when she said she had injected her and thought she was covering herself. Luckily two days into her punishment the BladeBreakers had returned to Tyson's and the bugging devices had proved her right.

Looking around Dr K wondered what was taking Boris so long, she didn't want to have to go back to Horatio and explain that she'd lost them, if she did she probably wouldn't go back, she chuckled under her breath, you'd think that with all the time she had spent working for men with stupidly evil schemes she'd have learnt to stay away, as it is she was regretting going to work for any of her bosses but she was interested in bitbeasts and they paid very well.

Looking down at her watch Dr K had to admit that she was worried, it shouldn't be taking this long.

"Never send a man to do a woman's job" she told herself with a sigh before picking up a book and beginning to read, she needed to distract herself. Boris would come soon, it was simple really, he had a gun, they didn't. How badly could he mess up?

--

As she sped the car away from her friend Hilary had formed a plan in her mind, Boris had fallen back into his seat the speed taking him by surprise. She needed to get the gun away from him and somehow get Mariah to a safe place.

"Hey! Stop!" he yelled angrily

"You got nothing to make me obey you now Boris, you should have held onto Mariah while you could" grinning Hilary began to speed up driving away from her friend even faster.

"I can still hurt her" Boris yelled smashing the window with the butt of his gun and leaning out to aim at Mariah.

Hilary slammed on the brakes but looking back and watching Mariah disappear she knew it was OK to carry on so she started the car up again pushing her foot down on the accelerator. Yelling loudly Boris leaned further out of the window to look for his prey, he was in a dangerous position right now but he wasn't thinking straight. Hilary seeing this knew that she had to take the chance while she could and slammed on the brakes again.

This time as she braked the car spiralled out of her control, spinning across the road until it slammed into one of the trees by the side of the tarmac.

This time Hilary felt pain spread through her body and the belt on her chest roughly whipped her back into her seat

This time Boris lost his grip on the gun and it fell into the road while he fell back into the car.

Throwing her door open Hilary un-strapped her belt and ran for the gun. Seeing what she was planning to do Boris pulled himself up and opened his door spilling unceremoniously from the car, he landed on the ground just yards from his gun, he ran for it and just closed his hand on the barrel when Hilary dived for it grabbing the handle and tried to wrench it from his grasp.

Neither of them was willing to let go of the gun and they rolled around the road in an angry and uncontrolled fight over the weapon. Boris was the stronger and heavier of the two and was able to remain on top of the girl as she squirmed and fought trying to push him off. Getting desperate Hilary looked at what end she was holding onto and the end Boris held, if she fired…

Squeezing her finger on the trigger Hilary shut her eyes, there was a yell and as she opened her eyes she saw Boris holding his hand and screaming in pain. Pushing him completely off her she pushed herself away from him using her feet to get away. She felt so afraid as she saw him turn to her, there was an unimaginable anger in his eyes and closing her eyes again Hilary lifted the gun, in her fear she fired again and this time there was a deafening silence after the shot.

-

Millie stood by the gate feeling upset, she had not meant to announce hers and Max's break up to everyone like that but she had been hurt by his attempt of 'Maybe this isn't going to work out' she was even more hurt because now he barely spoke to her, she didn't want to lie to him, and maybe Renaldo was right, maybe she didn't have to lie to him

"What?" Millie snapped looking at her cousin as she approached her

"I came to find out what happened with Max" Tia explained softly "You guys... when did that happen?"

"Max and I haven't been as close as we were since he found out about Hilary being alive, I know he was pleased with the news but that doesn't mean that he liked being lied to. He has this big thing about lies, we were OK for a while but... something happened that second time in Russia and since then I've been..." Millie paused before continuing "I've been working for MI5, I didn't tell him about it, I lied about it, he doesn't like lies and god knows I'm a rubbish liar, he could always tell."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"It's a long story" Millie shrugged the question off as a blue car drove down the street, inside the figures of Jake and Cheryl could be seen. The two cousins remained silent until the car stopped in front of them and a panicked looking Jake emerged

"How the hell did Boris get hold of Hilary?"

-

Opening her eyes Hilary watched as Boris stared at his front where her bullet had torn into his chest. A dark patch spread a cross his clothes.

She let out a shocked gasp as she watched him drop to his knees, he looked at her totally confused and then gave an odd smile as he fell face down onto the hard tarmac.

Gasping out sobs Hilary threw the gun away from herself, she couldn't believe that she had just killed a person, a human being. She felt sick and turned her head from the sight, inching carefully forward she forced herself to look down at the body. Reaching a trembling hand forward she felt at his neck and was aware of a weak pulse, jumping away from him she grabbed the gun again and aimed it at the prone figure.

Closing her eyes once more she squeezed the trigger again, and again, this time there was a spray of blood on her leg and she felt the need to throw up resurface. Opening her eyes didn't help matters as she saw the most disgusting sight she had ever seen before.

She was about to vomit when she heard a yell from behind

"Hilary?"

Looking up she saw Mariah's head looking up from the ditch where she had ducked from sight keeping her head out of range. For a few dazed seconds Hilary stood still feeling unsure but finally she came to her senses and waving at the pinkette she assured herself that she could cope with this. She had to for her friend

"I'm coming" Hilary yelled back and she threw the gun away and jogged back down the road. Tears spilled from her eyes as she headed to where they had left her friend, she was a killer now, she wondered how Mariah would take it.

"Are you ok?" Mariah asked urgently as Hilary finally reached her, they sat on the side of the road staring at each other

"I killed him" Hilary told her feeling angry and confused "He would have killed us in a heartbeat and I feel bad cos I killed him"

Shocked but smiling reassuringly Mariah reached forward and took her friends hand "That's because you're a good person, and if he hadn't been so willing to kill us you'd never even have thought of killing him."

"I feel sick" Hilary rubbed her eyes and them looked at Mariah, the girl had a slightly worried look on her face, she was very pale "Oh god here's me stupidly crying and you're white as sheet… are you ok?"

"Will the car work again?"

"Um…" surprised by this question Hilary looked back at where she had left the car, it had plunged half into a ditch and the front was mashed into a tree. It was hard to tell from where they were but Hilary was pretty sure that the car was a write off "I don't know, I doubt I could get it back on the road. What's wrong? Can't you walk?"

"I don't think so" Mariah muttered "I think my water broke"

"What…?" Hilary looked at her and realised that she was being deadly serious "Oh shit"

* * *

I was going to end the chapter after Hilary shot Boris, you know kind of a cliffie but I decided that this was a better place to stop, after all even I'm getting fed up of the whole 'hostage situation' thing and I really wanted Hilary to save herself this time. She's been kind of weak in this story but she's not usually like that… or at least I think she's not. The language is getting worse here but that just tells me we're nearing the end.

Please R&R


	34. Labour day!

Glad you all liked the last chapter, I was worried some of you would think Boris's death was too easy. Some of you had questions but all will be explained eventually.

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Frantic Hilary searched Boris's pockets for Mariah's phone, over time she allowed herself to think about what she was doing she felt a quiver of revulsion run through her, finally she found the phone in one of his coat pockets, triumphantly she pulled the required object. Flipping the phone open she was surprised to see that it was off, pressing the button she waited for the screen to light up but nothing happened, desperate and with shaking hands she pressed the button again… still nothing.

The battery was dead.

Swallowing the angry scream of disappointment she tried to think what to do next. She really felt like crying, there was a lump in her dry throat that made it hard to swallow, she shook her head and decided what would be best for her friend. Pulling herself up she walked to the car. Opening up the back she found a couple of picnic blankets along with bottled water and a spare tyre. Grabbing the water and blankets she headed back to Mariah, things did not look good. She inspected the water bottle, it was an Evian and still sealed so it was probably safe, unscrewing the top she took a quick sip… it tasted fine as well.

Lying by the side of the road Mariah tried to remember everything that she had been coached by Tia as she attempted to control her breathing. She watched as Hilary walked back to her a look of regret on her face.

Swearing violently Mariah cursed every single person she could think of that was responsible for her current state. She even cursed Ray for getting her pregnant in the first place.

"It's ok Mariah" Hilary lied hoping to fool the worried mother to be as much as herself. "I know what I'm doing and someone is bound to drive by soon to say nothing of the search party Ray and Kai will send out."

"We're ages from anywhere Hils, this is all Rays fault"

"Because he stopped when he saw the accident?" Hilary asked laying out the blankets she had found and helping Mariah to move onto them.

"No because he can't keep it in his pants"

"Mariah!" Hilary laughed at this "you're just as at fault as he is."

"Yeah well I'm about to go through labour, I'm allowed to hate who I want right now!"

Any laughter that would have normally followed such an unfair statement was stopped as Mariah gave a sudden scream of pain, Hilary dropped to her knees beside her grabbing her hand in her own and allowing Mariah to hold tightly.

"It hurts" Mariah gasped tears streaming down her face "I want an epidural!"

"Oddly enough I don't have one on me" Hilary joked and was rewarded with a small laugh from her friend. "Here have a drink but sip at it." Mariah nodded taking a small drink from the bottle before Hilary pulled it away and twisting the top back on placed it beside her. Sounding a lot more confident than she felt Hilary gave er friend a bracing grin "Right… now lets get this baby into the world!"

--

"Unfortunately I can't help as much as I'd like to." Jake shook his head angrily "I knew I shouldn't have let you just bring Hilary back here, what kind of security do you even have here?" None of the group had been exactly welcoming to the fact that Millie had been in touch with the MI5 and though it wasn't exactly Jake she had been in touch with his welcome had been markedly frosty.

"That doesn't matter right now, we need to find them" Ray told Jake angrily "Boris said that once they were a safe distance away they'd let Mariah go, can we look for her at least."

"We're doing a search of the major motorways but got nothing, I think Boris is being smart and avoiding all cameras" Jake told them apologetically "There's not much else we can do"

"We could try tracking Mariah via her phone" Millie offered "you say he took your phones as well. If Boris has those phones"

"He destroyed ours" Kai shook his head "he removed the battery and sim card, if he had Mariah's he'd have done the same"

"Well it's worth a try" Millie stood and moved to her computer looking resolute, Jake nodded in agreement.

"Anything could have happened to them" Ray muttered angrily "I'm going to kill Boris when I next see him."

"I've got plans for my boss as well" Jake muttered giving Millie a sympathetic look "He had no right to force you…"

"It's not important" Millie shrugged his concern off her eyes staring hard at her computer "and if everyone would stop being all self involved and just allow me to work then maybe I'd be able to solve this situation."

--

"I WANT RAAAAAAAY!" Mariah's lungs had reached a capacity that Hilary didn't think was possible in humans. Howler monkeys, yes, but humans, no.

"The bad news is you just deafened me, the good news, Ray probably heard that and is on his way." Hilary grinned as Mariah began to mutter expletives about her fiancé. "Mariah I really need you to stay calm… the contractions are getting closer and closer together and I think you need to keep breathing properly, like blowing out candles remember"

"Shut up Hils, just shut up!" Mariah yelled "I know all the breathing and stuff, unlike you I went to classes…" she screamed a little "You've just been gone, it's been so tough and you weren't there! This is all your fault! All of it!"

Staring down at the tarmac Hilary pretended not to hear the hurtful things Mariah was saying. She knew her friends wasn't thinking properly and though everything she was saying was true she also knew that under normal circumstances she wouldn't blame her for all that had happened Instead she moved to stare down between Mariah's legs, she was fully dilated now.

Unfastening her jacket she laid it on the ground ready for the baby to lie on and be wrapped up in. Hilary knew enough about what she was doing to know that the baby would need to be kept warm and in something clean, her jacket was clean and soft enough not to affect the newborn's skin.

"Mariah, it's time to push now" Hilary stared into Mariah's amber eyes trying to look as informed and comforting as she could "I'm going to tell you when to start and stop OK?"

"OK, Hilary I…" Mariah's voice broke but Hilary shook her head smiling kindly at her friend.

"It's ok Mariah, I understand… get ready… OK Push!" Mariah's face screwed up and she groaned as she strained. "That's it, stop for a moment. You're doing really well" Hilary told her "Ready? Push!" Another pain filled groan started and Mariah pushed as instructed, Hilary only just managed to not show her worry as she realized that Mariah's baby wasn't coming out headfirst.

--

"We're not safe!" Renaldo told his friends as he gathered them all into the dojo, he'd been so worried that it had been his fault, that there'd been a breach in his security that he'd insisted on going over their cars looking for something to explain it all, he'd searched the house as well, none of them could believe the devices that had been found around the house. It was safe to say that their cover was well and truly blown and anything they'd said or done was known about.

"I guess we're going to have to tell our boss he can no longer use us" Cheryl sighed looking at her husband. "Time to quit our day jobs."

"I'm actually kind of relieved" Jake smiled at her "Maybe now I can be more honest with my family."

"What I don't get is how all that stuff got in here" Tyson complained angrily "How do you get into a place like this and bug it like this?"

"It must have happened whilst we were abroad" Tala decided thoughtfully "I mean, no one was really here except your grandfather and he can't always be here."

After a long time at her computer only half listening to the conversations Millie sighed, the others watched her in silence, she was clearly frustrated but the remnants of anger at her for lying to them were still there and not even Tia bothered to ask her what was wrong.

Finally Jake turned to the young girl "Found anything?" he asked curiously,

Frowning Millie shook her head "No, the phone must have gone offline a while ago. I'm trying to find out where it was last used but…" she trailed off

"It's a long shot" Jake nodded "But if there's a team nearby we can get them to at least check out the surrounding area's. Do it"

Millie nodded frowning at the screen, her fingers flew over the keyboards lightening fast until finally she made a small noise of dismay.

"What is it?"

"I can't find that Mariah's phone had been used at all in the last twenty four hours, I can't even find a record of it being on… normally there'd be a ping from towers but… nothing."

"What about Boris? Does he have a phone?"

"Not one that I can track but…" Millie paused a small smile on her face "Renaldo?"

"Yeah?" the olive skinned man looked up at the blond from his spot on the floor

"You said you found tracking devices on Tyson's and Tala's cars?"

"Yeah." Renaldo nodded

"Do you think he would have put one on Ray's car as well?"

"Probably… why?"

"Get me one of the trackers, we can find out what signal it's transmitting on and then use that to track Ray's car!"

--

"Ok Mariah, push one more time" Hilary told her friend helping to actually pull the baby from her friend, the small baby slid out onto her jacket and immediately Hilary began to panic, the baby wasn't breathing.

"Hilary?" Mariah began to panic at the way Hilary said nothing to her and she heard no sound come from the baby "HILS! What's wrong?" Hilary tied off the umbilical cord and quickly cut it.

Dragging the jacket and baby into her arms Hilary opened the child's mouth, there was a sticky mucus inside, thrusting a finger into the child's mouth Hilary cleared the airway before closing her mouth over the baby's mouth and nose. She breathed short puffs of air into the baby making sure not to breath to hard. Hilary then moved away form the baby and using only two fingers delivered panicking strikes to the baby's chest, the little thing was starting to look blue. She ignored Mariah and her ever rising panic until finally there was a choke form the tiny baby and it began to cry.

"Oh thank god" Hilary sighed her eyes filling with tears as the baby began to cry turning a healthy red colour as it screamed miserably.

Mariah no longer had the strength to sit up and had not seen any of this but she heard her baby crying and she did likewise filled with relief.

Moving around behind Mariah Hilary lifted her friend into a sitting up position and placed the baby into her arms. Weeping Mariah wrapped the jacket closer to the baby's body to keep it warm holding it tight to her chest.

Feeling exhausted herself Hilary sat behind Mariah and wrapped her arms around the pink haired girl helping to keep her upright and warm.

"Thank you Hilary" Mariah whispered staring down at her beautiful daughter.

"Any time" Hilary told her with a grin "But next time lets do this in a hospital"

Mariah laughed settling back against Hilary "I'm a mother" she sighed happily "I'm glad you were here for this Hils, I know it's not the same as Ray but if I had to have anyone other than Ray by my side for this I'm glad it was you."

* * *

No cliffie this time and please forgive any mistakes I may have made here, my knowledge of labour isn't extensive but I have had CPR training on babies so that's pretty much right.

Anyway, please R&R


	35. Chapter 35

I decided that I want to finish this before christmas as I have another idea for a beyblade fic running around my mind. I won't start work on it till this ones finished. I'm letting my Naruto fics slide for a little while too (after all you've been loyal fans for a lot longer) but I never give up on a fic. I just really want to get this one done as I have a really big climactic ending already written!!

Than you for reviewing and I apoligise again for not responding to you, my internets driving me crazy (we're supposed to be switching to sky but there was cock up involving our virgin providers).

I do not own Beyblade!!

* * *

Her head hurt, visions of prison cells, of dogs, of handcuffs, of fighting, of being captured over and over again were swimming through her mind. The lies her grandfather had told her, the way he had used her aunt, uncle and cousin in order to manipulate her, the countless times she had wanted to get away. It was all coming back now, the fear, the horror, the confusion, the sadness. A tear dropped onto Mariah's shoulder before Hilary even noticed she was crying, wiping her eyes she mentally shook herself. Now was not the time for crying.

Feeling exhausted Hilary watched with suspicion as a car travelled quickly down the road towards where she and Mariah sat, she wasn't normally one to look a gift horse in the mouth but… well these days she had major trust issues, besides, if the Trojans had looked their gift horse in the mouth they'd have seen all their enemies sitting inside.

Still Mariah was sleeping now, as was her baby, and Hilary knew she couldn't leave her. Mariah had fed her child but Hilary knew she'd need to get them both to a hospital as soon as possible.

The car slowed down as it neared them and came to a halt practically beside them

"Hilary!"

Stunned she stared up at the man with hair and eyes so like her own "Jake!" she smiled at him, now she knew exactly what he had been for her all these years she felt closer to him than any of her other cousins.

He was out of the car in a flash "Oh thank god" he dropped to his knees beside her whilst his wife inspected Mariah "What's the deal Cher?"

"Placenta seems intact, no haemorrhaging, pulse fine on Mariah, and the baby… we need to get them to a hospital but I have to say" she smiled at Hilary "I'm impressed"

"You should have heard Mariah screaming, then you'd have been impressed!!" Hilary replied with a grin, then she noticed that Jake was staring down the road at the mess she had left there "He's dead. I-I shot him."

"The first kill is always the worst, we'll send a team out here later" Jake muttered darkly his expression telling Hilary that he knew exactly what she was feeling. "Are you OK?"

"Let's get Mariah to safety, I'll be able to think enough then to answer you."

"Sure thing" Cheryl agreed with a smile "Hey Mariah… time to wake up."

--

Once at the hospital Mariah stayed awake long enough to see her baby checked over by the staff before she lay back against the pillows and falling off to sleep. Whilst she slept Hilary and the doctors decided to discuss everything that had happened during the birth.

"I had to perform CPR" Hilary explained to the doctor who nodded understandingly

"Well as far as I can tell the baby hasn't been negatively affected, any brain damage issues we wouldn't know about for a few years anyway but we've given the kid a full examination and I think it'll all be fine."

"I hope so" Hilary whispered looking down at the tiny baby in her arms "It would be awful if anything bad happened"

"I understand that the father is on his way?" The doctor looked questioningly at Hilary

"Yeah" Hilary grinned and nodded "Ray's coming as quickly as possible"

"Ray?" in the bed Mariah shifted and started to sit up "Is he here?" she looked around hopefully, her mind befuddled by sleep.

"Not yet" Hilary soothed still rocking the baby "but he's on his way."

Outside Mariah's room Cheryl smiled at Ray as he dashed down the corridor followed closely by Kai and Tia

"Is she ok?" Ray panted out as he tried to look past her into the room behind.

"She's fine" Cheryl told him "but be quiet she's resting, and if you wake the baby up she won't be too happy"

"No, no, of course…." Ray agreed then he paused and stared at her "hold up, what did you say?"

"Congratulations" grinning widely Cheryl turned to open the door and allow the group into the room

Slowly and quietly Ray stumbled forward and made it through the doorway, in the bed the grinning Mariah lay looking very pale and sleepy. Standing beside the bed holding a bundle that looked like a blanket with a head stood Hilary, they both turned to look at him as he entered.

"Ray!" her voice was very weak but Mariah smiled and pushed herself up in the bed a little, running forward Ray threw his arms around his fiancée's neck and held her tight. She looked so wan that it frightened him, he would never let anyone hurt her again.

Kai followed his friend into the room but it was Hilary that caught his attention, standing by the bed and holding the baby she looked like **his **Hilary, calm, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. There was a soft smile on her face he couldn't take his gaze away from her as she whispered something to the baby stroking it's head and kissing it gently before moving forward and handing the tiny bundle over to Ray.

"Meet your little girl Ray" Mariah whispered happily

Hilary had still been holding the baby and she smiled at the couple's reunion before muttering under her breath 'exhausting' as she stroked the tiny head. Watching the couple carefully she judged that now would be a good time to present Ray with his child and moving forward she gently handed the little one over. Ray flashed her a grateful grin as he took his daughter into his arms and looking down he was astonished to see the little girls dark eyes open and stare up at him.

Looking back to the door Hilary smiled at the other visitors, moving away from the bed and towards them she jerked her head to the doorway and they left the new parents alone for a while.

Tired but happy Hilary walked towards the hospital canteen for something to eat, Kai and Tia were with her but none of them said a word. The silence was oddly companionable and Hilary was beginning to feel comfortable when a hospital gurney rushed past them. The man on the bed was middle aged and with purple hair, his face was bleeding and for a moment the vision of Boris lying in the road flashed into Hilary's vision and the wave of nausea overcame her.

"Hils are you OK?" Tia asked as she watched her friends face go pale

"I just need" Hilary pressed a hand over her mouth and turning away ran down the corridor. Tia was about to follow but before she could do anytihng Kai sprinted after his girlfriend looking worried, shaking her head she decided to leave them alone together, she was going to meet the other beybladers at the door and tell them the good news.

Staring into the toilet bowl Hilary felt the sour taste return to her mouth as the contents of her stomach rose up. She wasn't sure how much there was left to throw up as she'd been sick three times already but it seemed that she still had more.

Her hands held her hair away from her face but there were a few strands falling out of her grasp. She was about to grab her hair again when two cool hands brushed the hair to safety and held it back. Not caring to ask any questions Hilary allowed herself to vomit once more, as she coughed she felt a tissue wipe at her mouth and with watery eyes she smiled up at her helper

"You realise you're in the girls bathroom right?"

Kai nodded and wiped at her mouth again "Are you OK?"

"Do I look OK?" Hilary raised an eyebrow and Kai laughed

"I meant do you feel like you need to be sick again?"

Hilary paused before she answered, shaking her head she reached forward to flush the toilet and turning moved towards the sinks. Remaining silent as he watched her Kai allowed her to move to the sink and wash her face, she stared down at the sink for a long time before finally raising her vision slightly and regarding herself in the mirror. She stared at her face and frowned, then she caught Kai's eye in their reflections and gave a half-hearted smile. Kai felt awful, it was back, that colder, harder Hilary had returned and she was no longer looking like the girl he once knew, her eyes were closed and unreadable again.

"What was all that about? Are you ill?"

For a few moments Hilary's face remained impassive, then seeing the concern in his eyes her own filled with tears and clutching the bowl of the sink as if for dear life she began to cry.

Kai moved forward quickly and wrapped his arms around the sobbing girl, she allowed herself to be turned and burying her had in his chest she cried harder than Kai had ever seen anyone cry before. Gently stroking her hair and whispering kind words to her Kai soothed her to the point where she found her voice again.

"He's dead" Hilary whispered into his chest "he's dead"

"Who?" There was no response so holding her face in his hands and staring into her eyes Kai asked again "Who is dead?"

"Boris," Hilary tried to look away not wanting to look into those caring grey eyes as she admitted to her crime "I killed Boris"

Surprised Kai's arms dropped to his sides and he stared at her "you killed….?" his eyes moved from her face to stare at the floor.

He didn't have time to ask her anything further as Hilary, broken-hearted at finding those warm and secure arms gone from her shoulders, seeing the awful expression on Kai's face Hilary turned and ran off.

--

Disgusted Dr K surveyed the wreckage of the car she had been tracking, trust Boris to screw up like this. Shaking her head she wondered where the man had gone to, scanning the area she almost gasped when her eyes fell upon the pile in the middle of the road. For a moment she thought it was just clothes but as she got closer she recognised that the coat was too filled to just be a coat…

"Boris?" she stared down at the mans body in shock, blood was everywhere and if it hadn't been for his clothing she wouldn't have been able to tell that it was the man, his face was utterly destroyed.

Shivering Dr K surveyed the wounds, whoever wielded the gun was inexperienced, had probably fired in panic, she thought it through in her mind, Boris was meant to retrieve Mariah and Hilary, one of those girls had struggled and killed him. She couldn't return without that girl, if she got back to Horatio and Voltaire without Hilary then…, another shiver wracked her body. She really ought to be more careful who she worked for, her usual employers were rich enough to pay her the kind of money that made her life very luxurious but they were also usually clinically insane.

Pausing in the middle of the road she smiled to herself, there were a very few options open to her right now but she already knew which one she was about to take, leaning down to take a hold of Boris's arm she began to drag him over to the wrecked car.

--

Feeling alone and scared Hilary walked out of the hospital, how could she face anyone now? Who could she turn to about any of this? Tears formed in her eyes as she remembered the disgust on Kai's face.

"Hilary?"

Looking up Hilary easily recognized the blonde in front of her

"Hey Millie, how come you aren't in there with the others?"

"Not welcome" Millie shrugged as though it was nothing "I make Max uncomfortable and now everyone knows how two faced I can be!"

"What do you mean?" frowning as she looked at the seemingly casual young girl Hilary couldn't understand how she could ever be seen as two faced.

"I worked for MI5 without telling them" she stated brazenly

"And?"

"I lied about it"

"And?"

"Well…that's it" Millie finished with a shrug allowing her cool façade to crumble under Hilary's intrusive look.

"That's it?" Hilary asked in surprise "Millie if you had worked for my grandfather or something I could understand them saying you're two faced but… MI5? They're the good guys"

"No they're not… Hils, they wanted to study you as much as your grandfather did"

"What?"

"You are the only person that has ever had the serum they used on you and regained their memories, they kept asking questions about you, they had Dr Kim sending them regular information but they wanted me to find out what you had been exposed to that would make you remember stuff."

"Kai" Hilary whispered quietly "It was all Kai, my last thought before my memories left and the first thing to come back to me."

"You remember?" Millie asked astounded

"Yes ever since… ever since I killed Boris memories of the stuff that came before started to come back" Hilary waited for the revulsion she was sure Millie would display but instead the other girl just nodded understandingly.

"I've been reading up about fugue states, there are ways to end them, either with outright confrontation, you know someone telling you everything that happened in gory details, or for you to go through something worse than anything you went through before. For you, killing someone is one of the worst things you can do so, it made you remember."

"It was awful" Hilary shivered involuntarily, seeing this Millie walked forward and hugged the older girl

"Do you want to go get a drink? Caramel Macchiato?"

Sitting together in a coffee shop Hilary kept her sunglasses on and wore a rather out of character bandanna to cover her hair, every now and then when Millie looked at her friend she would giggle a little but Hilary hadn't smiled once in the time they had been together, Millie's reaction to the news that Hilary had killed a man had been rather calm, almost as though she had already known. Millie had guessed that something big happened and knew that Boris was hard to escape from so she had guessed that he had died as soon as she heard that the two girls were now safe.

Millie also guessed that Hilary was close to depression, her eyes behind the glasses were tired and her whole figure seemed wilting.

"Mariah was taken hostage and her baby almost died in my arms" Hilary shook her head as she and Millie sat drinking their hot beverages "It would have been all my fault, I can't involve you guys anymore."

"What can you do?" Millie asked as she watched Hilary take another sip of her drink "You can't exactly stop us from helping and you can not face your grandfather alone"

"Why not?"

"Because he's dangerous, he could kill you"

"But he won't, don't you see? out of all the people involved in this only one person is wanted alive by all sides. The only way to stop him is for me to either go to him, or to just leave and never contact anyone again... I can't go to him. I can't have a child by" holding one hand in front of her mouth Hilary retched a little, she knew full well that if she had had any food left in her stomach she'd be heading for the nearest toilet

"Hilary you..."

"Millie please. let me go" Hilary begged pitifully "let me stand up and walk out of this coffee shop and never tell anyone what I've said to you"

"Not gonna happen" Millie shook her head and stared at Hilary "I'm not letting you out of my sight ever again if you're going to be like this"

"I guess I should have figured you'd be like that" Hilary sighed as she once again took a sp from her mug "Tell me this though Millie, what would you do if you were in my position, honestly."

"Well I wouldn't run the risk of him hurting my friends whilst I'm gone" Millie told her determinedly "Your grandfather is the type who'd kill a load of your friends in a violent way just to get their names in the papers so you'd know they'd been hurt and that more would get hurt afterwards if you didn't go back to him, more than that, if he hurt one of your friends even a little it's be on the cover of every paper and magazine around the world so he'd be sure you'd see it. Even if he couldn't know you'd see it, I think he'd do it anyway."

"That's true" Hilary agreed dejectedly, she hadn't thought of that, Millie was right, even if he couldn't be sure she'd know what he'd done Horatio was the kind of person just to do it if he was angry "But I ask again, what would you do?"

"Well in times like this I always think WWJD"

"What would Jesus do?" Hilary asked in surprise

"What would James do"

"James?"

"Bond!" Millie joked and had the pleasure of seeing Hilary laugh for the first time since they'd sat down together

"James Bond? Well… he'd hook up with a few beautiful women and end up saving the day in a disastrous explosion or two!"

"Ok, so get rid of the hooking up with beautiful women bit... althouh a lot of guys would still find that hot, and head straight for the saving the day. Think the man with the golden gun!"

"Good music, bad car chase, awful acting… man Roger Moore was bad, he wore a cardigan once! James Bond in a cardigan" Hilary shivered "Not hot"

Glad to see that her friend was already recovering Millie laughed at Hilary's words but shook her head "I was thinking more of the books, Ian Fleming was an amazing writer. Anyway, that book is kind of right for all this, Bond's thought dead at the beginning, he has amnesia and then gets brainwashed by the Soviet Union."

"I still need some more for the plan here!"

"Ok, after that he goes undercover to work for Scaramanga"

"The man with the golden gun"

"Yeah, by working undercover he manages to kill the bad guy. You need to go undercover"

"How?"

"Like you just said, you have two choices, let your grandfather get you, or run. Now we know running isn't an option, so what is the only other option?"

"Go to my grandfather" Hilary shivered and rubbed her bare arms wishing she had a jacket with her.

"Exactly, and when you get in we'll take him down."

"How?" Hilary asked thinking that the plan was a bit vague

"You and I are in this right? No matter what you can't get rid of me now"

"Yeah" Hilary nodded in agreement

"But you don't want to involve anyone else?"

"No"

"We need two more people for this"

"If you say Kai or…"

"Are you kidding? None of the Blade breakers are what we need for this, I say Jake, and Cheryl. They worked for MI5, they can help us plan this, they have the experience for this," Hilary looked like she was about to argue but Millie cut her off saying "not only that they're already in danger, those bugs we found in the Dojo will have recorded everything, even the stuff we said about them. The only reason your grandfather hasn't gone after them yet was because they were covered by MI5 and he might have been planning to leak false information through them. Now as long as your grandfather is alive they're in danger."

"Alright" Hilary nodded her agreement "You, me, Jake and Cheryl. No one else…" she paused looking at Millie carefully "It means lying to Max again"

"We broke up, doesn't matter" Millie shrugged it off carelessly with a patently false grin "I don't think we'd have worked out anyway."

Moving her chair closer to her friend Hilary looked at Millie with concern "Millie, would you stop pretending to be a bitch?" she asked before wrapping one arm around the blonde's shoulders "That's not you."

"What do you mean?"

"The careless 'it doesn't matter' attitude, the way you smile as though everything's fine. It makes you seem cruel and inconsiderate and… I know for a fact that you're not."

"How can you see through that?" Millie asked biting her trembling lip

"Cause I've done it myself, loads of times, so stop acting like you don't care that everything's gone to shit right now and admit that you're upset"

Millie looked into Hilary's eyes for a moment before bursting into tears, she then allowed herself to be pulled into a hug. "I screwed it all up" Millie sobbed into Hilary's shoulder "It's all my fault and now he hates me"

"If he hated you he wouldn't care so much" Hilary comforted "Max doesn't hate you"

"He does, he does. He hates me, he hates me…" Hilary could tell that by now Millie was inconsolable and her best bet would be to just comfort her and not try to reason her out of her misery. She'd had crying jags like this herself and al you really wanted was for someone to hug you and let you cry. Smiling a little Hilary shook her head, this was normal, this was what she should be worrying about these days, her friends and their relationships, not her grandfather and who he was going to kill next. Maybe one day things would go back to normal, then she's have time to go yell at Max for being so stupid.

* * *

Ok a little bit of a longer one so please R&R as the chapters will all be getting longer from now on and the story is getting moving again.


	36. Chapter 36

This took so long to write, for some reason I just couldn't get into the KaiHil writing mood, I've spent that last few evenings reading KaiHil fiction and watching KaiHil vids on Youtube. It actually helped and here's the short fruit of my labours.

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Tia stood with Tyson and Max talking to them about Ray and the baby, both boys listened interestedly to what she was saying laughing when she described Ray holding his daughter for the first time. The three of them were laughing together when Kai ran up to them looking frantic.

"Have you seen Hilary?" Kai asked sounding desperate, they all stared at him shocked and shook their heads.

"Not since you and she ran off earlier" Tia informed him nervously, she hadn't seen Kai like this in a while.

"She's gone, she ran off"

"Well we're all dotted around the hospital here, I'm, sure one of us has seen her" at that moment Tala and the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys walked up to join them. "Have you guys seen Hils?"

"No, but isn't she trying to keep a low profile…?" Tala asked looking around "I mean… she is supposed to be dead."

"Where the Hell could she have gone?" Kai growled as he looked around the room, "she wouldn't just leave, not with Mariah in hospital!"

"What's happened?" Tyson's asked "why would she run off?" Kai remained silent unwilling to tell them why Hilary would run off.

"That doesn't matter right now, the important thing is where she went… where would she go?" Spencer asked himself

"I don't know why don't we all stand around asking each other. I bet that'll help!" Renaldo muttered back. He then turned to the group saying loudly "Ok people we know this town and we know Hilary, lets split and search. I'll make my way to the beach via the docks, Tyson you make your way to the lake. Max you go to the park where you all used to train, Call Kenny tell him to go to those old warehouses where the saint shields were based, I'll take the old fairground and my base they're close together, Kai you go to any place that Hilary may have loved. Everyone else call the others and tell them to get looking go wherever they can think of and you do the same, restaurants, cinema's, coffee places, anything OK? The weathers turning bad she may have taken shelter so check every alleyway, every place where there is any sort of protection from the rain Flash text everyone when you find her, meet back at the Dojo in two hours no matter what Got it?"

"Got it!" everyone chorused and they left the room.

Turning to look out the window Kai looked out at the cloudy skies, the forecast had threatened thunder, full of regret Kai began to run and search for his girlfriend praying that she was indoors.

--

Safely ensconced in a hotel with a false name and paying cash two girls were trying to come to terms with what they were planning. There was a real difference to the way Hilary made her plans and the way the others did. Millie had watched the brunette as she sat making extensive notes on what was going to happen, every day had a plan, and every plan had a timescale, she was beginning to understand why Hilary had told her that planning the event would take a while. Tyson and the others were far more likely to just come up with any old plan and go for it not bothering to check if it could be done.

"This is going to be a lot different form the Scooby plans the guys come up with" Hilary told her smiling as she stared at her in the mirror

"Scooby?" Millie asked confusedly

"Yeah, you know in Scooby Doo where they have a plan but it's kind of thrown together, it usually all goes wrong."

"But they manage to catch the bad guy anyway" Millie agreed laughing "and it's always someone in a mask"

"I know, I loved that in the second movie where Freddie Prince jnr goes up and says the real identity of Ned is… Ned!" Hilary laughed in remembrance, "And Velma got to date Seth Green, he's so cute"

"I know….I'd have loved to be Velma then"

"I'm afraid you're going to be Daphne this time" Hilary informed her with a wry smile

"Just get it over with!"

"Do you know what I was thinking?" Hilary asked as she mixed up chemicals in a tube

"My telepathy sensor is off today so no, I don't" Millie responded pulling the towel around her shoulders ever closer.

"I was wondering what's been happening on Neighbours recently. Thanks to my grandfather I've missed out on month's worth of Neighbours… I wonder what happened with Bridget's baby?"

"I don't know… I'm a home and away girl myself." Millie replied then frowned in thought "But didn't Bridget die recently?"

"Oh No!" Hilary shook the bottle of chemicals up as she lamented the fictional character "I hate when they have a cute couple and someone dies"

"I don't, it just means less couple swapping, in soap operas the rate of divorce seems to climb higher every day and I'd never date my best friends ex. And have you ever looked at their weddings? Half the people that attend them are old flames." Millie watched with some trepidation as Hilary began to squirt the chemicals onto her hair "I keep changing my hair colour so much these days I'm worried it'll start to fall out"

"Well that'll give you a totally new look" Hilary laughed at Millie's expression "I'm kidding… but it's easier to put on a wig than change hair colour so… Ok" Millie looked ready to hit her so Hilary stopped holding her hands up in defeat "No more hair loss jokes" running her hands through Millie's long hair and spreading the dye around Hilary smiled at her friend "You don't have to do this you know… I could easily…"

"Be recognised" Millie finished for her "we've been extremely lucky so far that no one has recognised you."

"No, I could…"

"You aren't leaving this room until it's time Hils. We aren't going to risk your grandfather seeing you before he needs to, he'll be keeping a close eye on Jake from now on, besides I've always wanted to see myself as a redhead…. It's weird to think that about a year ago I'd never have even thought about wearing my hair in any style that wasn't two long plaits."

"A lot of things were different a year ago" Hilary muttered unhappily "A lot of things."

--

"We looked everywhere, if she doesn't want to be found she doesn't want to be found" Tia shrugged, true they had been looking for hours but she wasn't worried, with Hilary back to her old self it was a safe bet that she'd be able to keep out of harms way. "I don't think she's in any trouble… Horatio and Voltaire are still in America, they aren't flying over here for a couple of days until that family thing Jakes hanging around for"

"I feel sorry for Jake having to spend time with his family right now"

"Hey keep your friends close…" Tala trailed off not needing to finish the old adage.

"I don't care if you looked, we need to look again. Hilary has gone somewhere and we need to find her. She's in a delicate condition right now!" Kai's voice sounded more and more desperate as time went on.

"Where else can we look Kai?" Tala asked reasonably "We've searched all the places she normally goes… maybe she's just walking somewhere?"

"I need to find Hilary" Kai said speaking to Tala as though he were mentally deficient

"Kai what's happened?" Tyson gave his friend an inquisitive look "What's gotten you so worked up?"

"I… I screwed up" Kai informed him his face stoic but his voice breaking "Hilary told me… she told me that she shot Boris"

Everyone in the room exchanged shocked looks.

"What?" Spencer asked looking as though his whole world had come crashing down "He's dead?"

"Yeah" Kai nodded "and that's exactly how I felt Spence"

"What do you mean?" Max asked curiously "How did you feel?"

"At the Abbey… Killing Boris was the number one dream, conversation topic, ambition… one week he repeatedly beat up a kid until the kid just couldn't cope… he committed suicide… for so long we discussed ways of making Boris's death long and painful. Now he's dead it's like something's missing"

"Well what did you say to Hilary" Tia asked worried by Kai's expression

"Nothing… I froze up, it was like one of my greatest ambitions had just vanished, she ran and by the time I came to my senses she was long gone."

"You froze up?" Tia shouted accusingly "You Froze?"

"Hey go easy on him" Tala commanded annoyed by the blonde's yelling

"No way! You may have wanted to kill Boris but this is Hilary, she has never wanted to kill anyone, she must be so conflicted right now… by freezing up this idiot probably made Hilary overreact and run… that's why we can't find her, she doesn't want us to! That's why he's so desperate to find her. He's scared of what she'll do, he knows that people often can't cope with the fact that they've killed someone and all the can think of is taking their own life"

"Hilary wouldn't do that" Tyson immediately objected

"No but she may be driven to do something just as bad" Tia said darkly

"Oh God" Julia muttered from her corner "do you think she'd have gone to him?"

"What do you mean?" Kenny turned to Julia looking confused

"I think she would" Tia agreed angrily "Lets list what happened to her, she wakes up not realising what's happened to her, she gets told everything, then she gets taken prisoner and Mariah is taken hostage, she then helps Mariah give birth (which according to Jake and Cheryl was almost life threatening for both mother and baby) and shoots Boris, then when she finally gets to safety her boyfriend is too stupid to comfort her and probably makes her feel like a complete pariah! What would you do?"

"To keep my friends safe?" Julia asked and got a nod in response "I'd go straight to my grandfather and give myself up."

"No" Kai shook his head "she wouldn't, not after all we've been through"

"Are you sure?" Tia asked carefully "Kai, can you honestly tell me that you're sure she wouldn't do that?"

-

Jake and Cheryl sat in the park watching children run around playing games "Feeling Broody?" Jake teased as Cheryl sighed a little wistfully

"No" the blonde lied but turning to her husband sighed again "Maybe, you've got to admit that it's something we both talked about once"

"Yeah, before the job made our lives so dangerous we were too scared to have any kids."

"I know… just seeing Mariah with her baby made me think…"

"What our kids would be like?"

"A little, have you never thought about it?" she asked nervously

"All the time… I just feel afraid of having daughters"

"There's no way we could have a daughter that would be old enough for Horatio to get to her."

"I know but until recently Boris was around as well, and there's that freak Dr K to worry about."

"I wonder what happened to her?" Cheryl muttered frowning in thought "I've spoken to some people about it and no ones seen her."

"Maybe she legged it?"

Further conversation was stopped as a raven haired woman walked up and sat next to them on the bench. There was a short period of silence then a familiar voice asked "How's Hilary's mother?"

"She's ok" Cheryl didn't turn as she answered the younger woman "Very depressed, when's Hilary going to call her?"

"Soon as possible, she has some unfinished business with her grandfather first."

"What's she planning?"

"Something big… here" a mobile phone was placed on the bench "this has a list of everything we need saved in the text message drafts under shopping. In the same drafts we have an address and the number of a security box where we want the stuff left."

"Millie you can't just cut us out of this!" Jake exclaimed forgetting to keep his voice down for a second

"It's not me that wants to, I tried to persuade Hilary to let you help but all she'll let you do is get her this stuff. Horatio is probably watching you anyway"

"He's not even in the country right now."

"Yeah and he still managed to get Hilary and Mariah kidnapped. What do we know about Dr K?"

"MIA, but she hasn't returned to Horatio or Voltaire yet, I think she's too scared to, Hell I would be if I had to go and tell those two men that I'd failed."

"Yeah, especially with such a good plan, I can't believe what they did to get Hilary under control." Millie paused after this, she hadn't even gotten a chance to see Mariah or the baby after she gave birth "How is Mariah?"

"She's alright, the doctors are keeping her and the kid in for a few days but she'll be fine…" Millie nodded happy at the response, she knew Hilary would want to hear that as well "Millie I need to tell you something" Jake kept his voice low and Millie had to strain to hear him

"What is it?"

"Boris's body disappeared, I know Hilary's sure she killed him but without a body…"

"Please" Millie laughed sardonically "you had a body for Hilary and she still wasn't dead. Bodies don't help you solve anything, if Hils said she killed him then she killed him. If the body's gone it means nothing and proves my point about how your grandfather can pull the strings, even when he's not around."

"I want to know what you two are planning."

"Blunt as ever… and now I'm going, you try to stop me now and Hilary will run, if you try and find out what we're doing after this we'll both run and…, tell whoever that idiot in the bushes over there is, not to follow me. I'll know if he's even a mile behind me."

Jake looked ready to stand up and stop Millie as she rose from her seat on the bench but Cheryl kept a firm hand on his arm. "don't" she murmured in a low voice. Millie gave her a quick smile before standing and walking away.

"I want to make sure Hilary's alright" Jake growled angrily

"I know, but we'll have a better chance of following her once we give her the stuff she needs…. What's on that list of hers?" Jake picked up the phone and began searching through the drafts, after a few seconds he made a shocked noise and shook his head

"no way" Jake hissed angrily "I will not get her this stuff"

"What is it?" Cheryl leaned over and picked up the phone "C4?" She asked stunned by the list "What the hell are these two planning?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out!"

* * *

Sorry again that this took so long, I hope to have the next one out sooner but I'm working for a catering company at the moment and there are a lot of xmas functions going on right now.

Please R&R


	37. Chapter 37

Hooray for KaiHil vids on youtube, this chapter is dedicated to tifafenrir09, darkDranzer23, EmiXanimeXangel and NejiTen01. I used their KaiHils vids as background noise and sweet pictures to get me in the KaiHil mood!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Pulling at her hair Millie adjusted her most recent wig, this one was bright blonde and had been cut to look like her old style, she was hoping not to run into Mariah (very unlikely as she was supposed to be in the hospital), Tia or Julia or else one of them would notice the obvious difference in her hair, she was pretty sure none of the guys would. In her pocket she kept a note from Hilary to be 'found' at the Dojo door and to stop the others from worrying too much.

After a few moments she was totally ready to pull of a new set of lies, walking forwards she entered the Dojo

"Hi Tyson" Millie smiled at the bluenette as she entered the room "Any news?"

"None, everyone's out searching again I'm staying here in case she comes home... I mean back here. You searched everywhere you can think of?"

"Yeah, no sign" Millie lied "Look, I'm not much help right now…"

"That's not true" Tyson argued "We need all the help we can get right now!"

"Tyson" Millie placed a hand on his arm and smiled at him "Do you honestly think that Max feels comfortable having me around?"

"Of course…" Tyson's stopped as Millie gave him an amused look "OK so maybe he's feeling a little sensitive right now but that doesn't mean we don't need you around."

"I know, but I think he and I need some space and that's just not happening with all the stuff that's going on right now. He and I need a break from each other"

"Where are you going to go?" Tyson asked knowing that arguing would be pointless as the young woman had obviously made up her mind.

"I have a friend Chimiko, she lives a couple of hours from here, I figure that if I go stay with her I'm close enough that if anything happens you can call me and I'll be able to come"

"That sounds reasonable" Tyson agreed "but I think Hils would prefer it if we all stuck together at a time like this, I mean, we're all in danger if there's someone out there… even if Boris is dead he still had help escaping Renaldo's place."

"I know, but why would come after me? I barely knew Hils" as Millie spoke she picked up the rucksack she had left at Tyson's "I've left some of my stuff here but that's because I will be coming back, I'm not going forever, I promise!"

"Right" Tyson agreed "I'll pass on the message to Tia"

"Cool, just tell her not to call straight away, I need some time alone… Oh… look, whats this out here? It's addressed to Kai" hoping she sounded clueless enough Millie bent over to pick up the letter she had just 'dropped' Millie held up an envelope with Kai's name on it praying Tyson would fall for her acting.

"Let me see!" Tyson grabbed the note "That's Hilary's handwriting" running out the door he ran towards the gate and looked up and down the street "Damn, it must have been left just a few minutes ago, did you see anything coming in?"

"No. Are you sure it's from her??" Millie asked joining him at the gate

"Yeah, look at the way Kai's name is underlined, she always did that with Christmas and birthday cards." Not caring about the name in the front Tyson ripped open the envelope

"Should you open that?" Millie asked concerned, she wasn't entirely sure what Hilary had written in the note.

"If Tia's right it could be a goodbye letter and Hils is about to do something really stupid, I gotta know." Tyson scanned the letter quickly "She's not coming back!" he exclaimed desperately

"What? Let me see?" Millie was genuinely surprised as she reached for the note "Ty, it says she's not coming back until she's done what she has to do… read it slowly."

Tyson took the note back

"Ah, yes… sorry if I worried you"

"I have faith in Hilary, maybe you guys just need to trust her to know what she's doing right now." With a quick hug Millie bid goodbye to her friend and walked away.

Task 1, completed… now for task 2!

--

"How's it going?" Hilary asked watching Millie working her computer, it had been awhile since she had seen Millie at her most comfortable but as the newly redheaded girl worked at the computer it was obvious that this was where she was completely relaxed. Her fingers flew over the keyboard with only the occasional pause while a page uploaded or she need to read something. As she paused she would pinch her lower lip between finger and thumb.

"Not easy, your grandfather sure knows how to cover his tracks… however"

"Yeah?"

"Well.. I've been trying to find out where he'll be going when he gets to Japan for this family thing you guys are having"

"The Annual Hootenanny" Hilary rolled her eyes, this is going to be the first time in her entire life that she wouldn't be at the annual family get together, of course it all depended on when she and Millie would be ready to make their move "Maybe I'll get to go to it at this rate."

"Ok well I've been tracking his calls and he called a cleaning company, according to their files he's asked them to clean out an old building of his. It's like a factory with flats above it, he's got the cleaners to sort out the upper apartments."

"You think he's going to stay there?" Hilary asked sarcastically

"No, I think he's going to be staying at Collins Park a very expensive hotel where he's already paid for the best suite, I think this is where he plans to leave Voltaire. It's not good for his image to be seen with a criminal like Voltaire."

"Good point" Hilary agreed, "what you got in the building?"

"I think I've got the ventilation system for the building online" Millie turned to look at Hilary with a grin on her face "Took me long enough, it's an old building and the real plans are long gone but the companies that designed and built this building" Millie pointed to the screen at another picture "worked on your grandfathers building as well, it's the same design, size and shape. Probably used the same plans to save time and money."

"So the system should be the same?"

"That's the hope" Millie agreed "Your grandfather destroyed all records pertaining to his building. Anyone would think he was trying to hide something."

"Ok… where are the weakest points in the building?"

"That's easy enough, if I set a run of charges all along this line of the building then the whole thing will come down."

"Alright, mark it out." Hilary ordered her hand shaking a little "How long will you give us?"

"Well the plan is to set the whole thing off when we're safe but… in order to sneak the remote detonator in we need to make is small and kind of weak… I think we'll still need to be in the building to actually start the explosives off."

"So how long will we have?" Hilary asked again

"Three minutes should give us plenty of time, we just have to ensure that those two men are still in the building."

"And that no one else is… how we going to do that?"

"Jake and Cheryl are getting us the equipment the day before your grandfather gets into town, we'll have thirty-one hours to get this set up."

"What happens if we have the wrong place?" Hilary asked, that was the number one problem in their plans

"Simple" Millie held up a small black capsule "I'm making this into a necklace, you'll wear it and I'll know exactly where you go. If they take you anywhere other than this building I'm on the phone to the police, the army, MI5, the Blade Breakers and the Blitzkrieg Boys. They won't know what hit them."

"Calling the cavalry… do you wish we could do that anyway?" Hilary asked knowing that Millie didn't like cutting everyone else out and having just them two working on the plan.

"No… we want these two men gone, they screwed up our lives for too much already. This ends with them dying, there's no other way of ending it completely. If we get people like the police involved then…"

"They'll just arrest them" Hilary agreed glad that Millie understood her enough "And Voltaire already managed to get out of gaol once, he'll do it again, after all they only pretended that OI was dead, I don't think they even have laws about what they did."

"Especially as they were smart enough to get Boris to do all the actual killing"

"And he's dead… I don't care what Jake said"

"I know"

"I checked his pulse and… when I felt he still had one I shot him again. I just wanted him dead, when I went back to him to look for Mariah's phone his face was unrecognisable. He's dead"

"I know" Millie nodded in agreement "I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't lie about that sort of thing"

--

"Give me the note!" Kai held out his hand and Tyson obediently placed the letter into it

_Kai,_

_I'm really sorry that I'm worrying you all but… I killed Boris, I need to deal with all this on my own. I'm not coming back until I've done what needs to be done. Please do not worry about me, I can mange this on my own. I'm not going away forever, I promise, I will be back._

_I remember everything now, all that happened with my grandfather and yours, I remember the look on your face when we met again and I didn't know you. The memories hurt, but that's just another reason as to why I need to be alone right now, don't try to find me, just let me come back to you, you should know that no matter what I can't stay away from you for long, even when I don't know who you are you're never far from my mind._

_I love you_

_Hilary_

"What's she going to do?" Kai asked confused by the letter, in it Hilary made no mention of what her plans were and it worried him

"There's a reason why she didn't tell us" Tia shrugged as she spoke with Kai "She knows that telling you will mean that you rush to her side to help her whether she wants it or not. She doesn't want you to get hurt so she's trying to protect you."

"I don't need protecting!" Kai argued "I can handle myself just fine."

"I'm just telling you what she's probably thinking.. Ty?"

"Yeah?" Tyson smiled at the blonde talking to him "What's up?"

"Are you sure Millie said she was going to stay with Chimiko?"

"Positive… why?"

"When I couldn't get Millie on her phone I tried Chimiko, she says she hasn't heard from Millie in ages, has no idea that she might be going to stay with her…. Millie isn't the type to just turn up on someone's doorstep… I'm worried"

"Does she have any other friends in Japan?" Tyson's asked frowning a the obvious worry in Tia's eyes.

"Not that I know of, Max?"

"What?" Max asked unconcernedly

"Do you know anymore of Millie's friends in Japan?"

"No"

"Then I'm even more worried now" Tia admitted, Tyson wrapped an arm around her and hugged her comfortingly. Max just sat frowning for a little while before standing and heading into the hallway. Pulling his phone from his pocket he began dialling a number, he smiled as he did so, he may have remove Millie form his speed dial but she was still there in a way. He still couldn't forget her number.

The phone rang for a short while until voicemail picked up.

_"Millie's phone, if you don't know what to do after the beep then... what rock have **you** been living under?" _the message was soon followed by a tone.

"Hey Millie, it's Max" the blonde sighed as he tried to think of what to say, he hated answering machines "Look I know I'm probably the last person you want to hear from but… as you know Hilary's gone missing, we need help finding her, everyone's freaking out and when Tia couldn't get in touch with you it worried her… and…"

'and me' that's what he wanted to say, 'Tia's worried and so am I, come back to me' shaking his head he carried on talking

"it worried her and it'll worry Mariah too when she finds out, all of us are already worried about Hils… look could you just phone or come back and see them. I… I'll call you again" Hanging up Max groaned in frustration, why had Millie disappeared? It didn't make any sense and it was driving him crazy, he felt guilty as much as anything, was it his fault Millie had just gone?

"Max!" Tyson ran up to his friend and took in his abject appearance with some surprise "Hey are you ok?"

"I was just trying to talk to Millie since it sounds like she's missing too… I've tried calling her but it just goes straight to voicemail"

"Are you sure she's missing and not just… not picking up?" Tyson asked as kindly as possible "she might not want to talk to you."

"She told you she was going to stay with a friend, said friend hasn't seen her, her passports still here and I know she doesn't know too many people in Japan, Tia's been trying to ring her far ages so it's not just that she's avoiding my calls. I could cope with that. She's gone, and I don't know what she might be up to!"

"You're really worried" Tyson frowned "Why?"

"If Millie and Hils were together and someone else wants to kidnap Hilary then who's to say he won't try the same tactics as last time?"

"You mean pulling a gun on someone else?"

"Exactly."

"Max I was standing with Millie when she found the note, Hilary was long gone by that point, I don't think the two of them were anywhere near each other"

"There are at least two crazy people out there with designs on Hilary and the willingness to hurt anyone that gets in the way, I'm allowed to worry about it!"

"Are you sure that's the only reason this is affecting you so much?" Tyson asked with a teasing smile

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that just because you've broken u with someone it doesn't mean you feel nothing for them, are you just missing her or feeling guilty that she's not around?"

"I never said I didn't feel for her anymore Ty" Max admitted with a shrug "I just can't trust her. Have we heard anymore on Hilary?"

Recognising that Max wasn't going to say anymore about Millie Tyson accepted the change of subject "None of us have found anything, she hasn't been in touch with us asides from the note she left but she said nothing about Millie in it"

Max frowned at Tyson "Well maybe Millie didn't think Tia would go checking up on her"

Nodding Tyson had a sudden thought "Have we contacted Jake or Cheryl about this?"

"No, why?"

"Well if I was wanting to disappear they'd be the people I asked for help, they got the knowledge, the connections… maybe Hilary called them"

--

Jake grunted unhappily as he shifted in his chair,

"Sit still" Cheryl commanded not even looking at him

"My ass is numb" he complained angrily

"And they say the romance dies in a marriage"

"You know what I mean" Jake complained as he moved again "This is so uncomfy! And my neck hurts!"

"Big Baby" Cheryl smirked watching him shift in his seat again "Anyone would think you'd never been on a stakeout before"

"I still don't get why we couldn't use my regular car, the seats are a lot more comfortable!"

"Because that's your regular car, I know Millie and I know how her mind works, she'll be keeping an eye out for a car like yours, this is safer, and before you say anything else that's also why we can't be any closer, she knows where we'd normally set up for a stakeout of a place like this so we're out of the way."

Ever since they had dropped off the equipment Jake and Cheryl had been waiting for someone to pick up the extremely dangerous and expensive briefcase. They were parked across the street but weren't in full view of the building, Cheryl was like Millie in many ways, a perfect strategist, they each knew how the other thought.

"So we're looking for a dark haired woman with a briefcase" Jake muttered to himself

"Not necessarily, her hair could be any colour" Cheryl corrected him "Buying hair dye is easy ands wigs aren't hard to get either"

"I don't even know why we're staking the place out, there's a tracker in the case"

"She may find it, like I said, she's smart."

"Its such a shame MI5 used her so badly, she'd be a great addition to any team if she's that smart" Jake muttered before jumping in his seat "There!"

"Where?"

"the redhead with the bag, the case is inside it…I'm sure I saw... it is!" a quick flash of silver showed them enough.

"Are you sure?" Cheryl asked still a little sceptical

"Yeah the trackers moving too…" they watched as the redhead stopped by the bin and dropped something into it, she then very quickly walked away "The trackers stopped"

"That's her then!" Cheryl agreed grinning, smart Millie, but not smart enough. Starting up the engine Cheryl pulled out into traffic and started to follow the redhead's progress down the street, Millie walked for a while into she came to a hotel and then slipped inside. Jake and Cheryl left the car and followed on foot, they raced up the stars as she took the lift, she stopped on the eight floor and walked down the long carpeted corridor totally unaware of the two people hiding on the stairs.

"Wait" Cheryl whispered as Jake tried to make a move

Knocking on a door the Millie called out "Hilary?" the door opened

"Stop right there!" Jake yelled running forward and grabbing the red head, Cheryl followed suit getting ready to grab Hilary only stopping when she was met by a green haired man staring at her confusedly

"What's going on?" the man asked angrily

"I wish I knew" the redhead asked staring up at Jake in surprise, Jake just stared back at her his mouth hanging open.

"It's not Millie" Cheryl muttered confusedly

"I'm so sorry!" snapping to attention Jake jumped to his feet feeling very embarrassed "I thought you were someone else." He helped the girl up to her feet apologising profusely.

"Ok" the redhead gave him a look of complete confusion "That's still kinda weird"

"Where did you get that brief case?" Cheryl asked staring at the bag the young woman carried.

"I was given it at work and told to deliver it here to a Hilary"

"That's me" the man agreed "Edmund Hillary, but I'm not expecting any case"

"Oh" the redhead looked confused and pulled the briefcase from the bag "Well it's open, maybe we can find out where all this confusion happened" she opened up the case and frowned "What's this?" she pulled out a piece of paper and frowned "This makes no sense, who's Jake and Cheryl? Is that you?"

"Yes" Cheryl held out a hand and took the paper, together she and Jake looked at it

_NICE TRY GUYS!! _

;-)

"Oh God" Cheryl muttered scrunching up her face as she thought it all through "You know I said Millie was smart?"

"Yeah"

"I was wrong, she's a damn genius!"

--

As soon as she had watched the sleek red car start to follow her decoy Millie had smiled, re-adjusted her thick glasses and left the building. She knew it wouldn't be long before they realised their mistake and by the time that happened she'd be safe enough. She crossed the street and waited in line at the bus stop. The noticeable briefcase had been replaced by an common tote bag and though the explosives were packed as carefully as they needed to be no one would suspect her of carrying anything that important or dangerous.

Her decoy had been easy enough to arrange, she knew someone working at the post office and had already been inside when Cheryl had dropped the brief case off. The change had been made and the briefcase had been given to a fellow member of staff who would not know anything when questioned. Her friend was trustworthy but knew so little that even if Cheryl and Jake scared her into confessing to help she wouldn't know anymore than Jake and Cheryl themselves already did. As sthe Decoy was leaving Millie had merely handed her a small coffee cup with the tracker inside and asked her to dump it in the outside trash so no one would know they'd allowed her to drink the coffee inside. People were so accomodating sometimes!

Climbing onto the bus she picked a seat closest to the window, it didn't really matter if she got seen, no one would recognise her right now.

* * *

Yay Millie! She's really coming into her own here, I kind of like her as a character. This is a quick update to make up for all the really long ones you all had to suffer for

Please R&R


	38. Chapter 38

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

"I feel really exposed here" Millie muttered to Hilary, she personally didn't agree with Hilary's plan to meet this new guy in KFC but Hilary had a craving for it and decided that it was as safe as anywhere else they could meet him.

"Don't worry, Nigel will be here any moment" Hilary informed her friend with a smile "Besides no one would recognise us"

"What did you say to get him here?" Millie asked frowning "you can't have told him the truth"

Hilary smiled calculatingly, she had known that the only way to attract her cousin here was by full disclosure, luckily enough she had enough of a history with all her family members too be able to convince them of who she was."I did actually, he wanted proof and I told him about the summer activities our cousins all used to get up to, something only they or I could know, he's still suspicious but he'll come."

"Who is Nigel anyway?"

"Nigel" Hilary gave a laugh "Nigel is a cousin on my mums side, he's…. How can I put this tactfully?" she thought about and then shook her head "There is no way to be tactful with this" Hilary grinned reminiscently "he isn't, I think his exact words to me when I once asked were 'I'm employed to test the local bobbies ingenuity'!"

"What's a bobby?" Millie frowned not getting the joke

"Never mind, I usually tell people that…, he believes the law was put there as a test and it would be wrong for everyone to pass the test. It would seem like we were all cheating."

"Still not getting it" Millie remained completely clueless "For someone not using tact you're making it very hard to work out!"

"He's a criminal" Hilary said bluntly as she made a 'ta-da' gesture with her hands

Millie stared at her for a moment before asking "Hilary what is it with you're family? Are any of them normal?"

Hilary laughed and shook her head "What's normal? I know why I was told to go to him though, Nigel's the only one of my family without any attachments, no wife, or girlfriend… or boyfriend, all his friends are living on a knife edge. He doesn't keep in touch with anyone in the family. If he were to help me Voltaire and Grandfather wouldn't have anyone they could emotionally blackmail him with. He knows explosives, this whole plan rests on him helping us… unless you want to do all that yourself?"

"Looking forward to meeting Nigel all of a sudden!" Millie laughed as Hilary gave her a smug look.

They were just considering ordering another round of drinks when a tall dark haired figure walked in the door. Instantly Hilary was on her feet staring at him, there was a long pause as the two of them regarded each other, Nigel put a hand out to rest on a nearby chair his hand going to his mouth. His face went white as he looked at the girl carefully, it didn't take long for him to stumble forward towards him

"Nige" Hilary muttered before running forward and embracing her cousin.

"Oh Hils" was all that could be heard by Millie as the tall man embraced her friend they stood holding each other for a long time "Thank God, Thank God" Nigel muttered tearfully Standing Millie walked to the counter and placed another order, this was a private moment that the two of them deserved to share.

"I saw you" Nigel said sitting across from his cousin his hand still clasping hers "You were dead."

"Well I knew I hadn't been feeling too well lately, but dead is taking it a little far!" Hilary replied with her usual dark wit, Nigel let out a short laugh and then turned to look at the girl beside her sitting "This is Millie, she's the reason I'm back to normal" it seemed like the easiest way of describing her friend and the best way of getting Nigel to trust her.

"Hi" placing a trio of carbonated drinks on the table Millie smiled at the man opposite her, she could see nothing of Hilary in him at all until he smiled, when he smiled the way his face changed instantly made her think of the brunette beside her, the small dimple, almost unnoticeable appeared just above the left side of his mouth. "Hils told me all about you"

"And you still agreed to her calling me?" He chuckled amicably "Nice to meet you but … I'm not sure, I have a good eye for faces but the glasses are making it hard… I think I saw you at the funeral"

"Yeah… well there weren't many people there" Millie grinned as Hilary elbowed her side and Nigel chuckled "I was blonde before so you're forgiven for forgetting me."

"I can see why you two are friends… oh God Hils, auntie Abi's been in a real state, she quit work and she and your dad are getting a divorce"

"What?" Hilary's eyes went wide "Why?"

"Something to do with him having a kid with another woman, you were friends with him, Brooklyn Kin…"

"Kingston…" Hilary muttered "How did she find out?"

"One of the other cousins found out, a few of them told her tried to break it to her gently, she took it badly."

"I'm not surprised, she just lost me and then everyone thinks it's ok to tell her that her marriage is built on lies… Damn it Nigel…" Hilary pulled her hand from his and clenched her fists "I need to get home… I need to do it soon"

"Then I'll help, in any way I can"

"Good, we need you to set 12 charges of C4."

There was a moment of stunned silence in which Millie feared Nigel had suffered from a stroke of some sort until finally he managed to get out "What the hell do you want that for?"

--

"Are you telling me that you gave Millie and Hilary C4? As in explosives? As in dangerous and possible lethal equipment?" Tia asked sounding furious, she stared down at the man and woman before her completely stunned "How the hell could you be so irresponsible?" she questioned treating them as though they were children not caring how many years they had on her. "What do you have you say for yourself?"

Cheryl had the decency to blush as she was questioned by Millie's cousin "We really didn't think they'd get away with it, we followed them but Millie set up an amazing decoy, she's got friends that will help her do anything and never say anything about her."

"Friends?" Tia asked confusedly

"Um… People that like her" Cheryl explained giving the blonde an odd look

"Yeah… Tia doesn't have any of those… ow!" Tala glared at Julia who merely smiled and turned back to listen to Cheryl, Tala glared at her and the smirking Tia before mumbling to himself "_Damn women suffering from PMS_"

"Thank you Tala, Julia, what I meant was other than Chimiko I didn't know she had any friends in Japan" Tia explained to the group as a whole, Max nodded in agreement looking confused. He had spent more time with Mille than anyone else whilst they had been in Japan and she hadn't contacted anyone outside the group.

"Well apparently she had one at Braymans holdings where we dropped the stuff off"

"Saika!" Max shouted angrily realisation sweeping over him "Of course!"

"Who?"

"Saika, she and Millie knew each other when Saika was working in the US branch of Braymans, Millie had a weekend job there and Saika ran the place…she must have returned to Japan since then… do you think she'll still be with her?" Max was furious with himself for not thinking into it more carefully.

"No, we are checking all the employees out but Millie's too smart for that, she'll know we're checking the girl out and keep away… Edmund Hillary had no clue who Millie was; I think she must have hacked around looking for a Hillary to put the icing on the cake! It was so embarrassing." Cheryl shook her head angrily.

Despite the severity of the situation Max shook his head a feeling of amusement welling up inside him, he had been constantly surprised by Millie's ability to think around a problem. His mother had given her a job with her company in America and she'd been amazing at every job and problem she'd been given, she was a reticent young woman but that didn't mean she wasn't able to outsmart most people. Her quiet nature meant most people underestimated her.

"The only thing we have going for us at the moment is that Hilary can't get in touch with anyone on her side, they only have Millie's connections…" Jake spoke up hopefully

"And a whole lot of explosives!" Tia reminded him

"Yeah"

"And no knowledge in how to use them!"

"No, probably not…"

"Man MI5 must be missing you two!"

--

The plan had been explained at great length and though he thought their scheme too be a little harebrained he couldn't fault them on their preparations "It's doable, a little out there but doable. I can't help you set the C4 though…,"

"But you used it on the safe at…"

"I didn't say I couldn't help you with it, just that I can't set it myself. I need a phone" Nigel said looking at the girls, "I can't use mine for all this"

"Hilary's is long gone"

"Apparently they don't do contract phones for dead people" Hilary interrupted with a smile

"…and I had to destroy mine, don't want Cheryl and Jake tracking us now do we?"

"Actually a payphone would be better… we need to find one about an hour away from here."

"I'm on it" Millie nodded pulling a map from her pocket and unfolding it onto the table

"They mark payphones on maps now?" Nigel asked surprised

"No Millie's scouted the entire area, she's marked down the best phones to use to keep the others off our trail and the best fast food places."

"Efficient, have you ever considered a career in crime? Contrary to popular belief it pays very well"

"No corrupting my friends" Hilary teased but a soft look entered her eyes as she smiled at her cousin "I've missed you… I know I didn't stay in touch as much as I should have before…"

"It's alright, after Ianto I figured you'd need space… I know you blame me"

Shaking her head Hilary smiled at her cousin "I did at one point but I don't anymore, Ianto took the wrong path and my grandfather gave him a good push as well."

"I haven't dealt in drugs for so long Hils, not when I saw him affected by it, I told him I'd do anything to help him, anything to protect him. I can't believe he died alone like that."

"That's just it…, Ianto, he…, he wasn't dead when I found him, he was overdosing but he made me promise to…"

"To call me?" Nigel asked with a smile

"Yeah"

"Before he died Ianto got in touch with me to, he was talking crazy telling me your grandfather wanted you for breeding purposes, that he was trying to take over the world, that beyblading was dangerous for you… it all sounded so crazy I didn't believe him but he made me promise to protect you if anything happened, told me that it was the only thing preying on his mind, that his kids were safe but you were in mortal danger."

"I wouldn't have believed him either" Hilary admitted unhappily, "I thought he was just…"

"Hallucinating? Me too, but I still prepared for you to call me, I had a safe house a ready for you and all my connections would have been at your disposal"

A sudden thought occurred to Hilary as she sat opposite him "You mean if I had come to you straight away Nigel then most of this wouldn't have happened?" Hilary asked looking depressed

"Probably"

"Oh Damn it!"

"My thoughts exactly, when I heard you were dead I decided to drop the whole thing, from what Ianto said I didn't think your grandfather wanted you dead. I stepped back stopped investigating him… but not any more we'll avenge Ianto and his wife Horatio will die!"

"Easy for you to say, he's like a cockroach" Hilary shook his head "I can't believe I'm related to him" she grimaced as Nigel preened obviously about to make some sort of joke about familial references and her own appearance but before he could speak Millie interrupted

"Before you start an argument you two, I think we'll use this phone, we haven't used it yet and it's far enough out, ok?"

--

Tweaker Nigel's contact was a broad shouldered young man with light blue grey hair and an odd habit of touching his nose with his tongue as he worked. He had taken the explosives from Millie and instructions from Nigel without a second thought but when his eyes lighted on Hilary he suddenly looked stumped before turning white.

"That's Hilary Tatibana of the Blade breakers" he declared pointing at her, once more in her life Hilary wondered at where she had received that title, she had certainly never earned it, sure she worked with the team but they were the beybladers, she was just a glorified tag along.

"Uh oh" Millie muttered worriedly, none of them had considered the fact that Nigel's crony could be a beyblading fan.

"She's dead, it was in the papers"

"Sit down Tweak" Nigel commanded and immediately the young man obeyed "Hilary's death was faked by some really bad people, they then held her prisoner for a while. We've gotten her out and are planning on hurting the men with the explosives I want you to set. OK?"

Tweaker said nothing just staring at Hilary in shock

"Tweaker?" Hilary spoke with a smile "I really need you to help, if you don't then I'll be in danger for the rest of my life"

"Of course…." Tweaker nodded still looking stunned "What's the chief like?"

"Chief?" Hilary asked with an unsure smile but guessing from the young mans demeanour and dexterity with computers and gadgets that e was a techie she sat down "Well the chief is just great, he is constantly developing stuff that I never know how to use, you don't know how many times I screwed up his computer and he's almost killed me!"

"Do you know what programme he's going to work on next? He's always developing new stuff and putting it out online for other techies"

"Well if you help us with all this once it's over I'll introduce you."

"Alright" Tweaker agreed with a sudden bright smile, immediately he started to work.

Millie and Hilary exchanged a smile at the young mans behaviour, it wasn't often that the chief was the first one people asked about, they knew he had a legion of fans but even they were usually more interested in Kai and Tyson's rivalry.

"Why's he called Tweaker?" Hilary asked Nigel as she came to stand next to them, giving his connections you had to be careful how much you trusted people that Nigel introduced you to.

"Not for the reason you might think" Nigel was quick to reassure her "He's a natural Tweaker!"

"Natural Tweaker?" Millie asked frowning at them

"People that get addicted to Meth or Amphetamines are known as tweakers because the stuff they are taking makes them want to pull things apart to see how they work or try to make odd things."Hilary explained quickly

"Tweaker's a natural, that's probably why he's a Kenny fan."

They sat watching the young man work for hours, he was careful with his movements but he wasted no time, everything he did was deliberate and necessary. Every now and then Millie would ask a question of Tweaker and he would answer quickly looking impressed by her knowledge. When it came to the setting of times and keeping consistent wavelengths for the timers Millie sat down and helped him. Hilary knew that if Kenny and Tweaker were ever to team up with Millie the three of them could take over the world in seconds… her grandfather would better off trying to breed from them!

"I'm done" Tweaker announced after a full twelve hours of work "How long do we have to set up in the building?"

"About three hours, grandfather is due in the country at seven, they have monitors and cameras watching the place but our plan should mean we'll do ok."

"Who's going in?"

Both Nigel and Hilary got ready to speak but Millie interrupted them "I'm doing it"

"Why?" Hilary asked turning to her friend

"It'll be safer if we do the final setting of the signal once it's in place"

"Then I should go in" Tweaker offered

"The vents are tiny" Millie shook her head looking at the larger man "I'm small and I'll be able to set up the explosive stuff best. I'll do it" The other three nodded unable to fault her logic.

--

Despite what you may see in movies ventilation shafts were not normally made for crawling through, at times when crawling through them the slim young blonde would have to pause and push the bag she was carrying through ahead of her. The whole thing was very claustrophobic so it was lucky that Mille wasn't afraid of small confined spaces. Even with all her courage this was not something she ever thought she would enjoy, if anyone ever invited her potholing she'd turn them down straight away.

"Oh this is horrible" Millie muttered into her radio as she shifted un-comfortably wriggling along her way.

"Want to know where you've you got to?" the voice crackled shrilly over her radio and made her jump, she paused briefly and slid her hand awkwardly to change the volume before responding.

"Please"

"About halfway along the main line…. There should be a left turn in a few minutes"

"Thanks" Millie continued to wriggle through the vents "It's a good thing I'm thin…"

"Do you now know what a TV dinner feels like?" Hilary asked grinning as she heard Millie chuckle

"The vents were a lot bigger in that movie… I think all the movies where I've seen someone doing this are wrong! Ah! Here's the turn…" Millie shifted and wriggled through the tunnel like system with real difficulty "Ok if memory serves I'm almost at the line… right?"

Hilary who was tracking the blondes progress with the help of a tracker and computer system set up by Tweaker grinned to herself, they didn't really need this Millie seemed to have a photographic memory and she seemed to know exactly where she was going. "Yeah…, how sure are you that this fault line will bring it all down?"

"Well this place wasn't built to last too long, the only reason they stayed was because there was a recession and no one could afford to build up new buildings to hold the old businesses. Tweaker agrees with me about it and says that the amount of explosives I'm using will mean that anyone inside the building will definitely die…" Millie shivered as she realised what she was saying

"I know Mils" Hilary told her with a reassuring tone to her voice "I do understand"

"Mils?" Millie asked amused "Is that my new nickname?"

"Yeah, I think we should all have nicknames like that, I'm Hils Mariah can be Mals"

"Tia is Tils… or tiddles, that's annoy her more"

"Julia, Juls?"

"Jugs!" Millie suggested giggling

"Tala's been staring at them enough" Hilary agreed really wanting to keep Millie distracted from what she was doing "when did she develop so much?"

"Dunno, I only knew her this year… she is stunning though and so confident"

"I know, she'll have to be if she and Tala hook up"

"Max is still convinced Tia will get together with Tala, they used to fight so much they really seemed so incompatible they'd be good together, they only stopped after you… died… and I do think they find each other attractive."

"Nah, I think she likes Tyson, besides Ty would be good for her, Tala's a bit too like her ex"

"Yeah I… I'm here?" Millie whispered as she got to the spot where she'd decided to set the first charge, she'd gone as far into the building as possible and would set the charges as she moved back out.

"Yeah you're there, time to lay in the first one"

With barely any room to see what she was doing Millie fiddled with the light she had strapped to her forehead making it brighter. She was lying completely horizontally moving like a worm through the metal vents and she only just had enough room to look up at the explosives ass she worked. "Placing the first one."

"Ok Millie... remember to make sure they all have the same signal"

Millie laughed at the reminder, she wasn't exactly an expert on this stuff the only bit of working with explosives that she was comfortable with was the electronic side, "No problem… hey do you think there are rats in here?" the thought occurred to her rather suddenly

"Scared?"

"No I just… I don't want to kill them, unlike the two rats we do want dead I'd feel bad about it."

Hilary paused and stared at the radio in confusion "You're a strange girl Mils"

"That why we get along so well Hils. Now stay silent for a moment, if Tweaker screwed this up then you might be the last person I ever talk to… I love you Hils"

Smiling over at the two men with her Hilary chuckled as Tweaker looked offended at the idea that he might not have set the explosives right "I'm sure it's fine, love you too Mils"

--

Horatio sat in his old office looking around at the group photos on his desk, almost every single member of his progeny were pictured on his desk, in most of the photos one face was predominant. Hilary had always been ready to have her pictures taken, she loved making memories and being sure she'd have evidence of them. It made him smile, it was almost as though she had always known that one day her memories wouldn't be as secure as she thought they should be.

He had returned to work and his entire family had been filled with sympathy. They all knew that he'd had cruel intentions towards his granddaughter but they had all known he never wanted her dead. They saw his withdrawal from public life and disappearance from all things familial had been a sign of great grief on his part.

Switching off his lamp he decided that he might as well head back to the hotel, he had arrived back in the country a few hours ago and situated Voltaire in his new abode. The old building was secure and he had made the living quarters exceptionably comfortable for his friend. The two of them were both very put out at the moment, Boris had apparently disappeared and from the looks of things so had Hilary, careful watching of the blade breakers ad blitzkrieg boys showed that they were just as unsure about Hilary's current location as he was.

Standing he readied himself to leave work behind and enjoy a drink back at the minibar when his phone rang, he paused contemplating allowing his machine take the message, shaking his head he decided against it., whoever had called this number had his private office number.

Placing his hand on the receiver he lifted the instrument to his ear "Hello?"

The voice that came through the phone was darker, an unfamiliar female voice with a ring to it that almost made him shiver, there was however only one person who it could be. After all there was only one female that ever rang him up and asked, "Grandfather?"

* * *

This was a very Millie and Hilary heavy chapter, the reasons for this is because they have become the two main characters for a short whiles. Everything they do needs to be properly thought out by me as well as them so this had them really focussed in it. And to anyone keeping tabs you can see I set the seeds for this part of the story really far back in the first story.

Please R&R


	39. Chapter 39

Thanks for the review Uchia Cutie, I'm writing a book but it's nothing like the stuff I write here, if I ever publish it I'll tell you. Another Hilary and Millie heavy chapter here, I keep trying to slot the others in but there's not much they can do until after the events of this chapter.

I do not own Beyblade.

* * *

"It's good to see you again Hilary." Horatio smiled at the young woman that now stood in his office. When he had heard her on the phone he had been greatly concerned at what she would say but she had offered to come visit him. She had willingly walked into his office, the lamb walking right into the lion's den.

Hilary smiled at her grandfather but it wasn't a friendly look such as she would bestow upon her friends or other family members "Hello grandfather" she knew exactly what he was thinking, there was just one thing he hadn't considered, yes she was walking into the lions den but there was a big difference to what he grandfather thought. He may be a lion but she was no lamb!

"I didn't think to see you again in such amicable circumstances"

"No you expected me to bring brawny henchmen and a police officer or two."

"It crossed my mind, I did wonder whether or not your boyfriend would appear…"

"I wouldn't bring Kai. And the police… well I considered it, but what would that do? Voltaire is still out there and you'd find a way out of gaol just like he did."

"True, but one of your beyblader friends may have had a more final way of dealing with me"

"I don't want to turn my friends into murderers."

"I see, please sit down"

Hilary moved to the nearest chair and settled herself in it comfortably before retuning her gaze to her grandfather.

"You said on the phone that you had a proposition for me?"

"Indeed" Hilary agreed with a wry smile "You have left me with very few options. If I run you give chase, unlike you I am not willing to let people get hurt because of me, I do not view my friends as dispensable so you, unscrupulous as you are take them to make me obey you. You wiped my memories, told my parents I was dead, you have no conscience at all."

"None"

"So pitting myself against you is impossible, even if I could protect all my friends I still know you would hurt just about anyone to get your way and that would then leave pretty much every human being on this earth in danger."

"Quite true"

"So the only way to keep people safe from harm is for me to submit to you"

"Very logical"

"I won't though… I mean, I do submit. I will allow you to…" she shivered as repulsion ran through her "however I have some demands to make"

"Demands?" Horatio asked amused

"Yes, first I will not allow you to use that memory stuff on me, for one thing it doesn't work for long and for another it could damage my mind next time you do it and that would affect my entire body negatively. I may even die"

"That's a very negative affect" Horatio agreed in mock contemplation "what other demands do you have?"

"I also ask that my friends are no longer plagued by you, I want to go to the Haiti in order to do all this and I request that you leave Brooklyn alone for good!"

Horatio paused taking everything in, all in all her demands didn't foil any of his plans. Her request to go to the Haiti made a small delay as he had nothing in that country and would need to set up a facility there but he was going to have to stay in Japan for the family gathering so he could be magnanimous about that. However…

"I do not quite see what has made this determination within you, I do question your motives."

Hilary paused feeling nervous, she was very much under scrutiny here…, in order to pull this off she'd need to work hard to convince him, with a small sigh she stared down at her hands. "Boris took Mariah hostage, she gave birth by the road side, Her baby…" she bit her lip remembering the still figure in her arms "I literally had to force the life into it, I had to breathe for it and it was all my fault" eyes filled with tears she stared up at her grandfather. "I was going to run then, I was going to run and never come back but I realised that that wouldn't stop you, there was only one way to stop you without sinking down to your level."

"I see" Horatio watched as Hilary's tough façade faded a little and she cried tears for her friend. "Very well then. I have a place I can take you. Voltaire will keep watch over you until I am finished with my family and business obligations here."

"Very well" Hilary nodded agreeably, looking down at her lap she hid a small smirk that was forming on her face. Everything was going exactly to plan

"What happened with Boris anyway?" Horatio asked with a slight frown on his face "I haven't seen or heard from him in a while"

"He ran off after Mariah and I managed to fight him his gun from him, it was the stress of that that caused Mariah to go into labour." It was a quick lie, she had not been expecting her grandfather to ask her about Boris, considering what her cousin had said about Boris's body she had assumed that Horatio or Voltaire had had a hand in the body's disappearance.

--

"Are you ready to do this Millie?" Nigel asked as he watched the young woman pull a belt around the waist of the black cat suit she had on. "Tweaker or I…"

"…will never fit through that first vent never mind into the building." Millie finished for him, she smirked at his expression before placing a comforting hand on his arm "Hilary and I have been through a lot together, I owe her for making me stronger. We'll leave there together or not at all." The young girl looked so determined that Nigel might have thought that she and Hilary were related, her jaw was set, her eyes were hard. She was ready for this.

"Alright, as we told Hils I'm going to be parked two blocks away just in view of the buildings left hand side. You must keep the radio on at all times, we will just be in range for such a small device but if we move even five yards further away we will not be able to guarantee the signal"

"I know" Millie sighed as he went over too much of the information "we've already discussed all this" as she spoke Millie moved to the door of the van, she pulled on a denim jacket and some cords to hide her tight suit that would grab attention and turned to grin at the two men "Well… see you soon" opening the door she dropped casually onto the pavement and started to saunter in the opposite direction of the building Hilary was held in. She moved incredibly confidently as she threaded through the streets she allowed her real worry to show on her face. She headed the long way around to Hilary's grandfathers old factory and stopped by the back wall, there she dropped the jacket from her shoulders and stepped out of her trousers, her suit was designed to be form fitting which meant that it wouldn't catch at odd points (a real problem before) and the material would help her as she slid through the metal tubes.

Squatting she pried the front off the lowest vent on the building and after another quick glance around thrust her head and shoulders into the vent and wriggled in. This was the most unnerving part of her next job, for a brief ten seconds she had no way of knowing if she had been spotted and if someone attacked her legs she'd have no way of defending herself.

She slid safely in and slid straight down turning at the first point she could… she groaned as she had to move to start climbing up, before she had only had to climb up about a yard in order to reach the fault line but this time she had a good five storeys to climb and if she fell… gulping Millie spread her arms, set her feet against one wall, her back against the other and began to climb.

It was a tough climb, her arms ached, her shoulders and upper back were the most problem as they dealt with the pain in her body and the ridges in the vents digging into her as she went. When she reached the desired level she shifted along so that she lay in an L shape her legs still hanging down the shaft, there she took a deep breath and looked around, the best vent to use was the first one merely centimetres from her, it was in a cupboard so she was unlikely to run into anyone until she was out. Winding a string around the covers wire front, she tied it tightly and began to undo the screws, soon she felt the front drop and with a gentle motion slid the vent face down to the ground.

She waited for someone to appear in front of her and raise the alarm but nothing happened and when she poked her head out she saw that the cupboard was not only absent of people but of items as well. An unused cupboard was the best place to come out, sighing with relief she made the final wriggling movements and with a feeling of precarious fear slid out, once she was half way there she felt gravity taking over, with one hand she clutched the side she was falling from and awkwardly managed to stop her self from plummeting to a very bad and noisy injury. She made an ungainly drop to the ground and then sank to her knees breathing heavily. She stopped for a few minutes until she felt ready to move again, even as she moved after her rest she felt her body protesting with every move she made.

Standing at the door she opened it slowly and peered out, there was no one in the corridor but she could hear the soft murmur of voices down the hall. She made her way toward the noise walking carefully.

She slid past the doorway where she could hear voices and then paused, she could hear singing… Bruce Springsteen, Hilary was expecting her. Grinning she moved away from the wall and started for the door, she was just about to reach for the handle when a large hand covered her mouth and she was wrenched back against someone, she tried to fight but she had been at a severe disadvantage, she was surprised, her arms were aching and whoever was holding her was strong.

She held her breath as a feminine voice whispered in her ear "Well, well, well look at this… it would appear that Hilary isn't as submissive as Horatio hoped."

--

"Where are we going?" Hilary asked sounding and looking like a moody sullen teenager as she trailed obstinately after Horatio. She was worried about her friends, Millie was due to arrive soon and the girl would be wandering around the building with no guide of where to go.

Horatio smiled back at her with a cruel smile "There's someone I want you to meet Hilary" he said to his granddaughter as she followed him into the room

"And who is…" Hilary stopped as she caught sight of the redhead sitting tied to the armchair "Ah... I see" she cocked one eyebrow at her friend who gave her an apologetic smile followed by a copied gesture. Hilary almost sighed in relief but managed to keep it down, Millie had managed to keep her radio and the detonator on her. All was not lost.

"Yes I'm sure you do" Horatio looked from girl to girl smiling easily "Your friend has been silent up until now, you must surely know why. Now is there anything that you two wish to say?"

There was a long silence as the two girls stared at each other with the same thoughts running through their minds, finally sitting in her chair Millie gave a short laugh, both the Tatibana's turned to stare at her completely confused.

"Scooby dooby doo?" Millie shrugged as she spoke Horatio just stared at her confused whilst Hilary could feel the laughter rising up inside of her, finally she allowed herself to laugh, real chuckles escaping her mouth and she moved to sit in a chair so that she could laugh unreservedly. In a similar frame of mind Millie leaned back against the chair back and began to laugh without restraint, the pure hilarity of how wrong everything had gone making her express amusement in a situation where normally she would want to cry.

Horatio watched as his granddaughter and her friend laughed hysterically, the two of them were obviously sharing in some private joke but it really annoyed him. He had been expecting fear, tears, pleas for freedom, instead he had two teenagers unable to take the situation seriously and laughing in the face of danger.

"Are you two quite finished?" he asked after a while

"I don't know" Hilary spoke up still chuckling and breathless with laughter

"I am" Millie said shaking her head, a loud giggle escaped her one more time before she composed herself "Ok, Now I'm finished."

"Me too" Hilary agreed "Was there something you were going to say grandfather?"

"Obviously neither of you are aware of the severity of the situation before you."

"Oh we're aware of it, we just choose to pay no attention to it" Hilary said with a shrug

"Yeah, if you don't like reality then ignore it!" Millie agreed both girls enjoying the way their flippancy made Horatio grow steadily more and more angry.

"Perhaps you'd like to know what happened to your friends out waiting for you"

"What did you do?" Hilary asked fearful for Nigel and Tweakers safety

--

It had taken three men to subdue Nigel and a further four to bring Tweaker down, the two men had fought hard but once again the people against them had the element of surprise. Millie may have been careful leaving the van and taken the long way around but Dr K was smart, looking around the area she had soon noticed the van standing at the corner and using cctv footage soon discovered a young girl very like Millie jumping out of the van.

"Can you move at all?" Tweak asked urgently as he pulled against the ropes keeping him in the drivers seat.

"Nothing" Nigel told him before shouting out a string of expletives, smoke was filling the back of the van, he wasn't sure what they had done to the back of the van but suddenly all those years of healthy living and not smoking seemed pointless. He couldn't see where their attackers had gone to but they were obviously expecting something big and had moved a safe distance away to avoid being hurt.

"Calm it Nige, I've…" Tweak gave a triumphant shout as one of his hands, bloody and broken was wrenched free form it's bonds, he made a pain filled noise as he reached down to his ankle and grabbed the wire cutters from the floor where they had dropped, leaning to his right he used his damaged hand to cut his other one free. Turning he made for Nigel's ropes

"No… leave it. Get out of here Tweak" Nigel commanded as the younger man pulled on the bindings holding him, the other man didn't listen and continued cutting despite the relative bluntness of his cutting implement. "It's no use, get out of here, go get help…"

"Not without you, I can't leave you here….YES!" Tweak had just managed to get the ropes off when the smoke started to fill the front of the van.

"Lets go" wrenching open the doors both men leapt from the vehicle and began running towards the nearest building that would offer cover.

--

"What did you do?" Hilary asked again,

There was a noise from Horatio's pager… looking at it her grinned and pointed. "If you want you can look out the window and see" both girls exchanged a scared look before they ran to the window, before they even reached it there was a resounding crash as an explosion rocked the building. They looked out across to where Millie had left the others only to see screwed up metal, rubble and fire.

"I see" Hilary spoke coldly "Grandfather, you are truly a fool of you believe that I will ever completely submit to you… oh wait, you did believe that. I guess you are a fool then!"

"You have no option but to obey me now Hilary, unless you want your friend here to suffer the same fate"

"Fool" Hilary said simply, she could think of nothing further to say but that one insult had just as much affect as any other insult she could come up with.

Storming towards the door Horatio flung it open and shouted out commands, within seconds two armed guards walked into the room. "Take them away" Horatio snarled waving a hand in agitation.

Fighting the two men as they untied Millie and began to lead them rather forcefully down the hallway Hilary and Millie walked as uncooperatively as possible. They were led down hallways that were familiar to them both, Hilary as she had seen them before and Millie because she had seen them on the blueprints of the building… the only difference was that there was a hallway missing.

They were shown into the bedroom Hilary had been imprisoned in earlier, as soon as they were alone their real feelings showed through and the two of them moved to sit down on the bed with heavy hearts. Each of them tried to think of a way that they could get out of their current predicament. All in all it seemed impossible

"Well Daphne" Hilary said looking to her left "What happens now?"

"Well Velma first I regret not insisting on more backup"

"And second we argue over who's fault it is" Hilary agreed with a smile

"Then I ask, how far along you got with plan Alpha?"

"We have a plan Alpha? What's plan Beta?"

"I don't think we have a plan Beta… I don't even know why I named this plan, plan Alpha, might as well have called it our plan!"

"Sounds better"

"So, how far did you get with our plan?"

"I tell you it's all set up, I was just waiting for rescue and that it all rested on me not getting caught and Nigel and Tweaker out in the van."

"Now I apologise for getting caught and wish I had a way to bring your cousin and his friend back… I'm sorry about that Hils"

Hilary shook her head trying to stem the tears filling her eyes "And I apologise for not thinking up a secondary escape route and wish I could have helped them as well"

"I think that's all we can say about this for now… apart from the obligatory crying, laughing and hug."

"We already did the laughing" Hilary pointed out showing that though what had happened had damaged her it hadn't broken her

"I'm sure the crying will soon follow soon enough"

"I could really use the hug though" Both girls sighed as they walked into each others embrace "Here come the tears" Hilary whispered mournfully as she felt her friends arms around her

"I know" Millie sounded equally tearful as she buried her head in Hilary's neck

"What do we do?" Hilary asked wishing Millie would have an answer

"We have two options"

"And they are?"

"One, we stay here and suffer"

"I kinda hope the second option is a little better but I think I know what you're going to say."

"Two, we press the detonator"

"I knew it" Hilary moaned feeling even more miserable "So… which one do you want to go for?"

"I think I know which we both want to go for" pulling apart the two girls looked down at the remote that Millie had magically pulled from somewhere inside her catsuit, they shared a nervous smile.

"You better find the right frequency then"

"It's gonna take a couple of hours" Millie shrugged apologetically "But I guess we've got plenty of time here…"

--

Still holding his radio Nigel groaned as he tried to move around, pain filled his whole body and he was more than a little winded, he tried to breathe normally but it was a struggle, everything seemed affected right now. His brain couldn't function and his eyes were hurting, not an inch of him didn't hurt like hell.

"Nige?" the strained voice beside him had him moving faster, the knowledge that he had a friend in need of help gave him the strength to shift up and move to check on him.

"Tweak? You ok man?"

"Right as rain… you?" Tweaker frowned as Nigel moved his shirt and placed a hand on his side, "Am I hurt badly?"

"Just a bit" Nigel informed him "A skin wound above your left hip It probably hurts like the devil but it's not really damaged"

"Do you think they've discovered that we escaped the van yet?"

"No but it won't be long before they do…"

At that moment the voices on the radio drew their attention back to what was happening in the building where Hilary was held.

"_Perhaps you'd like to know what happened to your friends out waiting for you"_

"_What did you do?" Hilary asked_

"_If you want you can look out the window and see"_

"_I see" Hilary spoke "Grandfather, you are truly a fool of you believe that I will ever completely submit to you… oh wait, you did believe that. I guess you are a fool then!"_

"_You have no option but to obey me now Hilary, unless you want your friend here to suffer the same fate" _

"_Fool"_

Listening carefully Nigel paused as he heard that, he recognised Hilary's tone, it was resignation but mixed with determination. She wasn't going to go down without a fight and given what was set around the building he could guess what she was going to do.

They needed to get into that building fast, but Tweaker was injured and he wasn't in great state himself… he needed help.

"I'm going to make a quick call, there's only one person that I can trust with this right now and if my information is correct he's in Japan right now. We'll soon be able to meet up with him and he'll be able to keep us safe and help us get into"

Flipping open his phone he then dialled a very well known number.

"That's not a nice way to answer the phone especially considering our differing opinions on what's important… look you owe me and I need help fast…. My cousin Hilary's been taken prisoner by her grandfather… Hilary. Hilary Tatibana…!! Thank God… I should be there in about ten minutes."

Turning he looked down at Tweaker "We need to move, can you..."

"I'm fine, lets get out of here before anyone realises that we're not in that van" Together the two men struggled to their feet and moved as quickly as possible towards a more public area where they would find transport and help.

* * *

As I wrote this I heard about the tragic death or Brittany Murphy, no stupid Hollywood drugs like some stupid actors just a bad heart in a young and amazingly talented girl. I saw her in Drive years ago and became a firm favourite of mine. I am so sad and shocked that she's died, I don't know why I'm writing this here but I need to let this out, I'm so shocked.


	40. found, but not safe yet

Ok we finally have Kai back into this story, I know he's been gone a while but he had a lot of attention at the beginning of this so I'm sure I can be forgiven. This chapter is a lot of him!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

"It's been over a week since we last saw them" Kai made a frustrated sound as he paced the floor again "And days since they got the explosive stuff from Jake and Cheryl, how are we ever going to find them?" They had come to the BBA training centre in the hopes of using Mr D's connections to search for Hilary and Millie but he had been unable to help them. They were beginning to get desperate, they had no leads and even less patience.

"I don't know" Tala responded, he was worried about his friend and his behaviour recently, Kai was barely eating again, he was becoming like he was before they had found out Hilary. "But Renaldo is sure we'll find them before it's too late."

"It could already be too late," Max responded dismally "Hilary's probably ok but we all know what happened to Dr Kensall. Millie could be…" he stopped and closed his eyes as he spoke. Ray glanced at his friend worriedly, Max was starting to act more and more like Kai these days, his attitude was belligerent at the best of times and his consumption of sustenance was limited.

"I doubt it" Ray said as consolingly as possible "Look at what they did with Mariah, they took her hostage to keep Hilary in check, they'll probably do the same for Millie, they won't hurt her."

"I think we all know that's a false hope" Tia cut in angrily "and I…"

"I'm almost up and running again" Renaldo cut in stopping Tia before she said anything cruel to Max, it was obvious to everyone that the girl blamed Max for Millie's disappearance "Well I think…" Renaldo paused as his phone went off, sighing he held up one finger to the others and flipped open his phone "Travis…. This better be important… I know we both have different ideas on what's important can you just.... yeah I know I owe you but…." An odd look spread over his face as realisation hit "Wh-what's her name?" Renaldo turned to face the group with a wide smile "Not a problem, I'm at the BBA myself, how soon can you get here....? alright, see you soon." Closing his phone Renaldo gazed around at the group "In ten minutes the answer to most of our questions will be coming through that door"

--

It had taken a little longer than Nigel had expected to get to his destination, they hadn't been able to find transportation straight away and in the end Tweaker had broken into a car and used his skills to hotwire it. They arrived at the BBA headquarters and rushed straight into the foyer…

Catching sight of the group standing talking Nigel ran straight towards them "Renaldo thank god you're in town I…" the dark haired man stopped as he caught sight of the rest of the group "…Jake?"

"Nigel?" Jake turned to face the man with some shock on his face "I thought you were in gaol?" he watched as a light haired young man ran in to join them.

"Got out ages ago…. Jake something awful has happened, it's about Hilary… she's…Ok, now I know this is going to sound crazy but…"

"She's alive" Kai finished for the man, everyone else nodded in agreement

Staring around at the group Nigel waited for a moment, they were all completely calm at his announcement, not a single one of them seemed taken aback."Yeah how did you…?"

"We rescued her from Horatio and Voltaire…" Kai informed him with a slight shrug "We don't know where she is now…"

"I do… You're Kai… of course, I forgot" he smiled looking relieved "Well… we need to rescue her from them again, and not just her…"

"Millie?" Max asked urgently

"That's right… the problem is, they think I'm dead, that's what I overheard Horatio tell them so they think it's just the two of them and no help is coming"

"What's wrong with that? Surely it just means that when they show up they'll be doubly happy to see us"

"I don't know if you know but they had C4, what's wrong with the situation is that Millie placed 12 charges of that stuff around the building, they have the remote to blow the place up… if they think they're stranded there…"

"They may just blow the place up whilst their inside" Kai finished his eyes dark and angry

"They wouldn't" Ray argued shocked, he couldn't believe that two girls that were so full of fun and ready for life would be ready to act so desperately.

"Right now Millie's in more danger than Hilary, they'll be keeping her to use to keep Hilary in line, they can't risk the serum on her without seriously damaging her, they'll be quite willing to torture Millie if it means keeping Hilary in hand. Hilary knows this; she also knows that they will try to make her pregnant again and that her children will be experimented on. With a choice between that future and death what would you pick?"

"I know what she'll pick" Kai said his face murderous "But I won't let her, I won't let her end it this way. Where's she being held?"

"I'm not telling you that until I know you have a plan"

"You are going to tell me right now, Hilary could do this at any minute"

"No she won't, according to Tweak here… this is Tweak" everyone nodded in greeting and Renaldo gave his old friend a hug before checking up on his friend "It'll take Millie an hour or two to set up the remote control and find the signal, we have a one way radio on her that we can use to listen to them once we get back within range, we need a fast plan, a lot of people and a way to get in, and we need it fast."

"Where are they being held?" Renaldo asked as though he hadn't heard Nigel say he wouldn't tell until he knew they had a plan.

"I said…"

"I know, but unless I know which building he's got her stuck in I can't know how much I can help." Nigel stared Renaldo down for a few moments, Renaldo held eye contact obviously refusing to back down "I have never let you down before"

With a shrug Nigel dropped his gaze "Fine, there's an old factory building in the industrial quarter" he didn't give away the whole address but it was enough for Renaldo

"Used to be Tatibana's old store place?"

"That's the one"

Renaldo stood in deep thought, his usually cheerful face concentrating hard until finally he looked up and a smile curved his lips "That wouldn't happen to the place where he used to store stolen medical research would it?"

"Apparently that's what it held…. You know it?"

"Yes" Renaldo paused his eyes squinting as he thought about it "That place was not only for storage but for experiments, as a result they built a secret way in through the floor, most people don't know about it, all the people that worked on it were disposed of and the blueprints destroyed years ago and they never let anyone do a thorough survey on the place."

"Then how do you know about it?" Tia asked surprised by his knowledge

"I was taken there, the easiest way to get test subjects in and out without raising any suspicion was to use the tunnel" Renaldo moved to stand so he faced everyone "Kai and Tala, you get the Blitzkrieg boys and meet me down at the docks, number seven." Kai nodded and ran off "Ray get Kenny to set up in a nearby building get Jake and Cheryl to help you with it, take this" he handed the radio over "Get to the industrial quarter and turn it on you should be able to know when you are close, Tweak you're ok to work?" Tweak nodded and he and Ray were about to leave when Renaldo grabbed Ray's arm "Take Tia with you, Tia I need you to go back to the Dojo and pick up my brief case, it has locators in it stay with Kenny and Ray" They left and Renaldo nodded smiling "we'll need the locators because we're taking a big team in. Max and Tyson you're with me we need to swing by a place I know and pick up the blade breakers along the way, Nige you know where we can get battering ram?"

"I have a couple of police ones at home"

"Excellent, pick them up and meet me at the docks."

Quick nods were exchanged and everyone moved their separate ways, Nigel headed back to his hot wired car and gave it a doubtful look, if he kept hold of it much longer he might get picked up… looking around the street he smiled to himself as a woman parked her car in the road opposite, she headed down the towards the nearby hairdressers and went in. That gave him at least an hour before she'd miss her car…

Running across the road he smiled to himself, she'd even left the key in the ignition, such a silly mistake, she really would learn from this experience.

--

"Here's where we run into trouble" Renaldo told the others as they came to a solid metal door

"Here?" Spencer asked disbelievingly, they had been made to dive into freezing cold water, swim around uncertainly with heavy equipment ion their backs and enter and ominous looking tunnel, they had then almost run out of air as the tunnel had recently had a grid placed over it. They had all arrived in the secret tunnel gasping for breath. After that they had sprinted through a long dank tunnel that seemed to go on forever as it wound all around making its way to the industrial estate.

"Come on, this has been a breeze!" Renaldo grinned and Nigel merely laughed as he shifted the battering ram off his shoulder and placed it in the centre of the doorway.

Spencer, Kai, Tala and Nigel then stood around the ram

"Count down from 3… 3,2,1!" they swung the metal implement back and hit the door with an almighty clunk, the door shuddered "Again, 3,2,1" another hit and the door crashed back on itself and the men all cheered as the carried on running along the tunnel.

In minutes they arrived under the building and paused to get more instructions

"We've been gone forty five minutes, I give us ten to do this, Tala's team you take the entrance, make sure we can get away quickly, Kai your team locates the prisoners and get Hilary and Millie out of here, my team will scout the lower floor, Nigel your team takes the upper floor, eliminate any threats to the plan using any force or means possible. Are we all clear?"

There were positive sounds from everyone as they shouldered or un-holstered the weaponry that had been handed out.

"Lets go" with a quick movement Renaldo opened the trapdoor above him and all four team leaders pushed their heads through the doorway and aimed their guns around in sweeping gestures

"Clear" they all chorused and immediately everyone began to climb out, Kai's team went first and with a determined look Kai pulled out his locater, Hilary was still wearing the tracker Millie had given her…

"This way" Kai commanded and he was quickly followed by Tyson, Ray, Daichi and Max. The five of them made quick progress through the building moving up the stairs towards the higher floors, their progress was quick and uninterrupted until making their way down one particular corridor they heard familiar voices approaching them.

"Horatio, Voltaire" Tyson murmured "We should double back, head to Hilary's room another way"

"No"

"Kai if we get caught here… they could have guards"

"You guys go back, I'm finishing this" the others stood feeling indecision, Kai was good leader but right now his anger and fury was clouding his judgement and hampering his abilities. He pulled his gun from his body and held it ready to shoot.

Finally Tyson turned back and gave the others orders "Take the Radio, we'll keep Hillary's locator. Max, Ray, Dai, go back, take the long way round, don't come back whatever happens, if you guys get to Hilary fist we'll follow you down. Got it?"

"Got it" the others assented and with a feeling of unease the team parted.

Standing behind Kai Tyson hissed a quick 'You better know what you're doing' before standing with him ready to shoot.

The two men turned the corner, they were alone and had obviously had no inkling that there were guests in the building. Tyson and Kai looked a fearsome sight as they rounded the corner, both men were ready to do battle and stood ready to shoot.

As Kai stood before Horatio and Voltaire and angry look in his eyes, the weapon in his hand was firmly trained on them he considered how much he had longed for this moment.

"Hello grandfather"

"Grandson, you look rather fearsome, any one would think you weren't happy to see me again"

"Ya think?" Tyson questioned his expression almost as furious as Kai's

"You don't want to do this" Horatio said trying to calm the men "Hilary wouldn't want you both to sink to our level" he argued hoping that would sway them enough to reconsider what he was sure would be the outcome of all this.

"No, but you brought **her** down to it" Kai hissed "You made her prepared to go down with you, you made her ready to go down to whatever level she needed to in order to stop you. I'll stop you for her though" and with that Kai fired upon the two men.

Voltaire went down straight away but the second shot failed, Horatio was fully prepared and his arm went inside his jacket as he dodged the shot from Kai's gun. The one from Tyson's weapon he was not so lucky with, the bullet hit it's mark and the old man crumpled to the floor.

Both men let out a sigh of relief until they heard shouts from below, exchanging a glance the two men dashed forwards once more heading for their destination.

--

Sitting together Millie and Hilary jumped at the sound of shots in the building "What do you think that was?" Hilary questioned nervously

"I have no idea" Millie shook her head and carried on working on the detonator

"How can you keep working on that at a time like this?"

"This is our only weapon right now Hils, whatever comes through that door… done" Millie looked up and grinned "Whatever comes through that door we have a way to fight them, we have something against them…"

"Did you hear that?" Hilary interrupted her eyes lighting up, "it sounded like…"

"HILS? HILARY?"

"Kai!" Hilary ran for the door and began to hit the wood "Kai!! In here"

"Hilary!" he was on the other side of the door now, the handle twisted and Hilary moved back, the door opened and there he stood, she couldn't move but he merely rushed towards her and swept her into his arms. "Hilary" he muttered into her hair before pressing his lips to hers.

Tears fell from Hilary's eyes as Kai held her close, she had made her peace with the fact that she'd never see him again but that didn't mean she found it easy. The relief she felt at being able smell his scent, feel his hair meant more to her than anything else right now. He broke the kiss and wiped her eyes

"You came for me" she whispered before he took her lips with his again.

Placing the detonator down on the bed Millie kept her eyes on the ground allowing them some privacy until Tyson entered the room, the two of them then gave each other a much more platonic greeting moved away from the couple.

"You OK?" Tyson asked carefully smiling at the young woman

Millie nodded her eyes tearful "Yeah just tired, you know?"

"Yeah… hey what's this?" looking down at the bed Tyson carelessly grabbed the detonator and picked it up. Hilary looked away from Kai's eyes just long enough to join in the panic when she saw what was happening.

"NO!" Both Hilary and Millie leaped forward to stop Tyson from touching the remote but it was too late, the button had been pressed, they had three minutes.

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Man I'm exhausted but I'm determined to get this finished

Please R&R


	41. Final Countdown

Short but action filled here, thanks for reviewing guys, it's all almost over!!

I do not own Beyblade.

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"WHAT'S WRONG?" Tyson asked staring at Hilary and Millie as they stood

looking horrified, their eyes were fixed on the object in his hand.

"That's a remote detonator" Millie explained her voice trembling she grabbed it form him and stared down at the display "this place is wired to explode in…"

"two minutes and fifty two seconds" Hilary stated looking at her watch "fifty one, fifty… are you guys getting it? We need to run!"

No more needed to be said as Kai grabbed Hilary by the arm and sped to the door, Millie and Tyson were behind him but once there Kai stopped pulling at the handle of the door that had closed behind him

"Come on Kai, we need to go!" Tyson yelled but the look on Kai's face made his heart sink "we're locked in aren't we?"

"Yeah" Kai whispered his face white and drawn.

"The hinges" Millie exclaimed running for the door "Does anyone have anything on them? A screwdriver? Anything?"

"Yeah!" Kai tore his pocket in his rush to pull his pen knife from it, he dropped it straight away but Millie grabbed it up and turning to the door began to work on the hinges, a full thirty seconds passed before even one of the screws were out, there were another twenty to go.

"This isn't working!!" She gasped out tearfully

"Let me" Kai moved forward but soon realised that he wasn't going to be able to work any faster "There's no time" he yelled slamming a fist on the door.

Turning back to face Hilary he stared down at her, she was trembling "This is all my fault" she whispered tears filling her eyes "If only I had never…"

"No!" Kai moved forward and wrapped his arms around her "It's not your fault no one would blame you, this is just a mistake." Over her head he watched as Millie dropped to sit on the bed, like Hilary she was shaking at the thought of what was about to happen, beside her Tyson placed one hand on her arm, the two of them clasped each others hand comfortingly, Millie's eyes were fixed on her watch as she miserably counted down the seconds.

--

She had heard the shots somewhere above her, she had known what was happening, she had been there when it happened to her previous bosses. The plans of Horatio and Voltaire were failing, their empire was falling and she was due for an appointment at the job centre. Still Dr K did her work as always, running towards her office she flung the door open and made for the security panel, pressing buttons she shut and locked the doors from the panel. Turning she calculated what to do next, whoever was in the building was obviously armed, they could just be some crazy people that had decided to rob a previously inactive building, maybe they had been using this place before. Either way she needed to get out of here.

She had no weaponry to hand, and had no ability to use it anyway, a gun may look threatening enough to put someone off but she wouldn't be able to actually protect herself with it.

Moving to her computer she began to send an email to her personal address, it took mere seconds as she'd had it prepared for a long time now. After that she inserted a disk that would send a virus through the system and destroy all information on it. Finally she lit a match and tossed it into the filing cabinet where it began to spread fire throughout the entire drawer. Sure she was in the clear now Dr K moved quickly to the door and left. No feelings of nostalgia or wistfulness ran through her as she left yet another job. This was her life, running down the corridor to make a hasty exit as she had done so many times before.

She sped towards the entrance, ready to make a hasty getaway; she skidded down corridors arriving at the front of the door only to stop as she saw the group standing by the door.

Her eyes widened and she stopped stock still, Tala had his back to her but Spencer and Ian noticed her immediately Bryan spotting her soon afterwards, both they and Bryan brought Tala's attention to the newcomer, he turned and surveyed the dark haired lady with suspicion.

"Who are you?" Ian asked but was quickly answered when Tala informed him who it was, all four boys went into immediate threatening mode.

"You can't stop me going past" Dr K informed them slowly moving forwards

"I'm not going to let you escape. Not after what you did to Hils" Tala told the woman levelling his gun at her

"So you're going to kill me instead?" she asked mockingly "You're going to kill me when all I'VE EVER REALLY DONE WAS WATCH Hilary's health"

"We don't know that that was all you've ever done" Tala told her but his certainty was wavering

"It was, I'm interested in beyblading and bit beasts, I was tricked into this as much as you were."

"I still won't let you go" Tala said decidedly moving towards her

Dr K stopped in her tracks and shook her head "How are you going to stop me" She asked with a small smile "You're going to attack a woman?"

"Um… well no" Tala admitted heavily "I can't really do that"

"What about the rest of you?" Dr K asked looking from one to the other, "are you willing to attack me?"

The rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys shook their heads nervously, there was a certain code they tried to stick to, a certain way they tried to live and despite the fact that this woman had worked for Horatio and Voltaire they still couldn't bring themselves to attack her. Dr K got steadily closer and closer until finally she walked past the group and arrived at the door.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to hit a woman" Dr K informed them turning back to smile at them

"Maybe not" said a voice from the doorway, before Dr K could register anything a hard fist slammed into her left eye sending her flying back until she hit the wall completely unconscious. "But I can" Julia said with a small smile. There was a brief moment of silence and then Julia shook her hand and exclaimed in pain "Man that hurt"

"It was an impressive hit" Spencer told her appreciatively

"It's my launching hand" Julie quipped back before flexing her fingers "But I think my game is going to be a little off for a while."

"What are you doing here?" Tala asked

"Looking for you guys, Kai's found Hilary, their locators are together but they didn't move straight away, they're in one place."

"Maybe they got to her in time" Bryan suggested

"I hope so" Julia said anxiously before looking down the hallway "I hope so."

--

Below them shots could be heard around the building, people were still in here, Tyson wished he had his radio with him, at least that way he could bring attention to the problem and everyone else would get out, looking at Millie he nudged her, she looked up at him "How long?"

Millie liked back down at her watch "Two minutes ten left"

"Is that all?" Tyson asked surprised, "I thought we'd been sitting here longer"

"Afraid so, it's really dragging isn't it?"

"I…"

"KAI?" The voice from the hallway made them all jump, hope filled them and they all ran to pound on the door.

"In here! Max, in here!!" Tyson and the others began screaming for help

"Get back" Max yelled and they all moved away from the door, gunshots fired,

once, twice, and then the door was kicked open "You guys ok?" he asked looking around at their panicked faces

"MOVE MOVE MOVE!" Kai yelled his hand in Hilary's again as they began to run out the room, Daichi and Ray right by the door were stunned by the sudden rush as everyone left the room but their arms were grabbed by Tyson as he ran

"Get on the radio Dai" Tyson ordered as they all began running down the corridor "tell everyone there's a bomb about to go off, they have about a minute thirty to get out of here!"

Going pale Daichi nodded and obeyed Tyson's orders, he got responses from every team but Tala's.

"No response form Tala" he yelled to the others

"Everyone else will pass them on the way out, we'll pass them too, they'll be fine" Tyson decided as he continued to run "They were probably messing with the radio and broke it."

Inside the cell Max had found his hand grabbed by Millie as she yanked him out the room and followed the others, she dropped his hand embarrassedly as she realised what she had done. All she had intended to do was get him running so he'd leave the building with her, she hoped he hadn't thought she'd been presuming anything.

Running behind Millie Max knew he could run faster, he'd always outrun her when they'd exercised before but he wasn't going to let her fall behind him, he needed to make sure she got out… Tia would kill him if he didn't… yeah that's why he was being so careful about it…

--

"What was that on the radio?" Tala asked as it crackled momentarily into life and then died again

Ian shrugged unconcernedly "I'm not sure, Bryan dropped it, it was probably fine but he then decided to…"

"Try and fix it" Tala finished for him giving Bryan a dark look "Never mind, we'll just stand our ground for now." Looking down at the prone form on the floor he bit his lip thinking hard, finally he decided "I reckon we should get Dr K moved somewhere else, if we leave her here and the bombs go off by accident she'd be killed and we still don't know what her involvement was"

"I'll get on it" Spencer decided shifting the unconscious woman so he could tie her hands

"Thanks for the save" Tala said grudgingly towards Julia.

"You're welcome, I should've known you'd need me" Julia grinned and was abut to say more when Renaldo came into sight, sprinting towards them.

"What's going on?" Ian asked surprised to see their friend looking so serious

"BOMB" Renaldo yelled as he ran right past them and through the doors

Exchanging looks everyone began to speed towards the doors, once out Tala pointed to a nearby empty building "Take cover in there, I'm waiting for the others"

"Be careful" Julia yelled as she and the others (carrying the helpless Dr K) pegged it for the nearest building.

Standing near the door Tala watched them all go for safety before returning within and shouting instructions for the others as they ran towards him, finally the only team left to come was Kai's.

--

Holding tight Kai had Hilary's hand clasped in his as they ran down flights of stairs, all those years of running and training were standing him in good stead, they were all doing well, every now and then Hilary would glance down at her watch and call out how long they had left, she yelled "One minute" just as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Which way now?" Tyson shouted looking around at the corridors

"Out this way!" Tala yelled having heard the exclamation, he had been standing by the door waiting for the final people to leave the building, hearing the yell Kai the others changed their course and headed for the voice.

As usual Millie was a little slower than the others, she knew she was slower than Max especially they had done so much training together it was hard for her to not know, whenever they had raced together he had always sped ahead with the others but right here and now he was by her side and running at exactly the same speed as her. The others were almost out of sight now, grimacing she spurred herself on, running faster determined that it wouldn't be her fault that the two of them didn't make it.

Once they got to the door Tala headed out running in the direction of a nearby building "Follow me, we need to get to cover"

They ran after Tala but it wasn't until they got to the building that Julia exclaimed "Where's Millie?"

"Twelve seconds" Hilary said looking around desperately her heart pounding with fear and adrenaline.

"And Max?" Tyson followed up, running back to the door Hilary watched as one blond and a redhead shot out of the building

"OVER HERE!!" Hilary screamed, the two of them began running, Millie tripped momentarily as she came but Max reached back and grabbed her hand before pulling her to her feet and towards safety, the two of them made it as out of breath and relieved they were all safe Hilary looked down at her watch counting "3,2,1.. times up."

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Please R&R


	42. Chapter 42

Man I love the song Jai Ho by the pussycat dolls, (loved slumdog millionaire too) I'm not usually a fan of theirs but that song is stuck in my head right now… it might have something to do with this years children in need song though!!

Anyway, this is the penultimate chapter only one left now!!

I do not own Beyblade

* * *

Silence followed Hilary's statement, there was no explosion, looking around at each other everyone wore confused expressions.

"What happened?" Bryan asked

"I don't know" Hilary frowned as she and Kai walked back towards the doorway they were about to open the door when their ears were assaulted by an almighty noise. The building around them shuddered and heat could be felt through the walls, Kai clutched Hilary towards him moving them away from the doorway, their eyes clenched shut as they held each other and prayed that the building around them would hold up to the explosion next door.

The world around them seemed to calm and all was quiet

"It's over" Hilary whispered her face still buried in Kai's chest.

Looking down at his love Kai smiled brushing at her hair with one hand, he knew she didn't just mean the danger they had momentarily been in with the explosion nearby, it was over, it was all over. Looking around at the group he grinned at the look on Tala's face as he realized that he had one arm around Julia and that se was clutching it gratefully, on the other side of him Max was holding Millie a very stern look on his face, and Ian was holding hands with Spencer… that really didn't last long. He almost laughed at the way they broke apart both yelling "Get off me man!"

Millie and Max split soon afterwards neither of them really looking at each other and trying not to look at any one else either.

"MILLIE!" The scream came from outside

"Tia!!" Millie ran to the door and out into her cousins arms

"Oh god Millie for a second there…" Tia trailed off just hugging her cousin

"I'm alright, honestly" Millie placated her

"Alright? You may be alright now but once we get back home you are in so much trouble! How could you just run off like that… and C4? What the hell did you think you could do with C4? And then just disappearing off with Millie, do you know how worried I was? They almost killed Mariah and then you run off with Hilary, do you think they'd have hesitated to hurt you?"

"Give her a break" Hilary said walking towards her friend and placing one hand on her arm "Do you honestly think she would have done it my way of she didn't have a choice?"

"Oh Hils" Tia began to weep as she embraced her friend "Don't ever do that to me again"

"She won't" Kai said decisively as he looked at the two girls "I won't let her" everyone else was exiting the building now all of them looking over the rubble of the building they had been in and feeling exceedingly grateful that they had all escaped in time.

Tia laughed at Kai's words then seeing Tyson step through the doorway amongst the others her eyes lit up "Ty!" running towards him she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him, Tyson's eyes weren't the only ones to widen in shock but as money was exchanged and Max had to admit his first ever failure at matching a couple correctly no one noticed Millie slipping away.

-

Opening drawers and pulling out clothes and other items Millie threw them on the bed, she then moved to the wardrobe and flung wide the doors. She didn't have much time and she'd need to get out of here before anyone else showed up. Her eyes were filling with tears as she continued to go trough the room gathering together her belongings. She was just pulling her case out from under the bed when a voice spoke out "Everyone wondered where you'd gone off to." Millie didn't stop as she dragged the case out and threw it open "I told them we had some stuff to sort out and that I'd come and find you… Millie talk to me"

Millie sighed and smiled up at Hilary "I want to get packed up as soon as possible"

"So you were just going to leave?" Hilary asked watching as Millie packed her clothes, they were standing in the hotel room where they had spent so much time planning.

"I can't be near him right now, I'm going to go home."

"But why? You and he could still have a chance, I know he cares about you"

"Because… I'm looking for love" Mille whispered to Hilary "Real love! Ridiculous, inconvenient consuming, can't live without each other love….wait that's sex and the city….!" She frowned realizing that she was quoting Sarah Jessica Parker "But never mind that, my point still stands! I need a guy who…" she sighed looking tired "I need a guy who looks at life…. and when he imagines it without me…. can't imagine it. A guy for whom I am a necessity not just a… bonus."

"And you feel that Max see's you as a bonus?"

"No but…I saw Kai when he didn't have you he was a mess, he lost who he was when he lost you. Is it so wrong to want that? A guy that really needs you?"

"Well I died in a particularly nasty way, killed by people he hates. It's a different situation"

"Maybe I can't explain it to you, but if he doesn't realise that I only ever lied to him to protect him then he doesn't know me like he should. When I found out you might be alive I lied because I didn't want him hurt, when MI5 were trying to make me give them information they told me that if I told anyone else they'd be in just as much trouble as I was."

"Have you told him that?"

"He wouldn't talk to me"

"Emily cheated on him, not only that, she did it with his friend and team mate. Max hates lies, please, just go to him, tell him everything and I'm sure he will understand."

"I can't, I'm heading back to America, I'll have moved out of his place by the time he gets home and he'll never have to deal with me again"

"You were living together?" Hilary asked surprised, Millie was quite an innocent and particular person and Hilary hadn't realised that the young couple might have been living together.

"Not like that" Millie argued blushing, "we didn't share a bedroom or anything… well not all the time, it was just easier for work as were working in the same place and… I liked it."

Hilary smiled at her friend wishing she knew what she could say, She personally thought that they were a perfect couple.

"Please" Hilary begged desperately "Just talk to him, give it one more chance"

Millie sat looking down at her hands and sighed, out of the corner of her eye she could see Hilary smiling encouragingly "Well I suppose I can't just disappear again" she admitted "Tia'll go crazy if I do"

--

Hilary and Millie arrived back at the Granger Dojo in time to see the party that was starting, everyone was standing in the back garden and a huge barbecue had been set up. Everyone was cooking and eating together. A preening Kenny was off to one side with Tweaker talking about beyblading and computers but everyone else was gathered around slicing vegetables, skewering meat, and making sauces. Hilary stopped at the gate and smiled at her friends, she reveled in the sight of their happiness, as she stood there Mariah walked out of the house her baby clutched to her chest. They exchanged a smile and the pink haired girl headed towards the newcomers.

"Hils"

"Hey Mariah" they hugged gingerly the baby making it difficult

"It's good to have you back as well" she smiled at Millie "I was furious when you and Hil first disappeared but I know what Hils is kike, if she sets her mind to something you can't change it."

"Believe me I tried" Millie smiled and then looked at the baby in Mariah's arms "She's beautiful"

"Of course!" Mariah exclaimed "You haven't seen her yet, do you want to hold her?"

"Really?" Millie asked smiling nervously, "are you sure?"

"Course!" Mariah handed her the baby and Millie shifted accommodatingly, staring down at the young baby's face she couldn't help but smile

"She's amazing, do you have a name yet?"

"Actually we do" Mariah grinned and turned to face Hilary "We're going to name her Hilary… if that's alright…?" Stunned by the pronouncement the brunette just stared at Mariah in shock, it was a good thing that she wasn't the one holding the baby, if she had been it looked like she'd have dropped it. Millie laughed at the stunned expression on her face and Mariah gave her a small shake "Hils… is it ok?"

"Of course it is!" Hilary shouted getting everyone's attention, she and Mariah began to jump up and down squealing, Kai and Ray made their way towards them as nonchalantly as possible, Hilary grinned and wrapped her arms lovingly around her boyfriend pressing her lips on his cheek "Hello gorgeous" she ignored the dark look he gave her and just unwound herself from him to lean against him, Kai rolled his eyes but slid his arm around her waist keeping her close and resting his head near her hair so he could keep the smell he loved close. Hilary merely grinned knowing she had annoyed him but sighing as he held her lovingly, she smiled at Ray who was holding Mariah similarly "Mariah told me what you're naming the baby"

"You approve?" Ray asked hopefully

"Of course" Hilary nodded enthusiastically

"I'm glad, I mean, it was kind of our plan when you weren't around… you know if it was a girl and now you're back we worried that you wouldn't like it but you really did a lot for us, she wouldn't be around if it weren't for you helping us get together."

Hilary grinned at the couple as they gazed at their baby in Millie's arms "Well don't remind Lee of that, he may not be as happy"

"He's ecstatic about being an uncle, he's been in China for a while but he'll be back soon."

As the conversation followed along these lines Millie looked around the garden. Across from her she could see Max handling the vegetables. Handing baby Hilary back to Mariah Millie moved away from the two of them and headed towards the table where Max stood chopping peppers, he saw her coming and stopped to look at her.

"Hey" Max smiled insincerely at Millie there was an odd look on his face

"Hi" Millie didn't know what else to say, she didn't know what she could possibly say, "Um… can we go talk inside?"

"Sure" Max put the knife down on his chopping board and wiped his hands on his shirt, the two of them then walked away from the group and into the Dojo. They stood opposite each other staring down at the smooth wooden floor boards that lined beneath their feet. Finally Millie looked up and began to speak

"I'm here to say sorry, I never meant to…" she paused, she couldn't say she never meant to lie, it wasn't true "I never meant to hurt you."

"Millie I just…." Max stared into her beautiful, lost puppy dog, dangerously disarming eyes "I wish you'd told me all you were doing. When I found out you'd been lying to me it really hurt. Emily lied, I couldn't handle being lied to again."

Running a hand through her long red hair Millie nodded understandingly "Max I said that I never intended to hurt you and I meant it." Millie whispered quietly "My suspicions about Hilary were so wildly implausible I thought I was wrong. Faking a death? Cloning? Even I thought I was crazy, if I had been wrong you would have been hurt all over again. The MI5 stuff… well it was better for you not to know, that way they couldn't put you in the frame for anything if I got arrested. I know I hurt you… but… you hurt me too," she said this with a bit more confidence as she stared into his eyes.

Surprised Max stared back at her, he had hurt her? "How?"

"You've just cut me out of you're life. I am still crazy about you and you just ignore me, obviously your feelings weren't as deep as mine, you don't feel the same way anymore" Millie shrugged "And if you can do that… cut me out, forget me. I don't think we'll ever be able to make it" she kept her gaze on the floor knowing that the moment she looked up and saw his eyes again she'd fall. She needed to be strong right now "Maybe we were never meant to be." Looking up she cursed herself, he was just looking at her stunned, "Look I'm going to go pack up the rest of my stuff, I'm going to miss you Max" walking forward she pressed her lips to his cheek in a tender kiss before backing away and fleeing the room.

Max watched Millie rush away, he was upset but he couldn't think straight right now. He actually didn't move until she was long gone, he sat down in the hallway feeling very depressed and it wasn't until hours later when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket that he moved.

--

"So how are we going to do this" Hilary asked looking from Jake to Nigel, both men were holding kebabs in one hand their faces screwed up in concentration. "I have to find a way to go home again, my parents aren't going to just accept me again."

"Maybe we need to just be honest about all this." Jake spoke decidedly "They need to know what happened, a load of lies will just make things more difficult and I wish to be honest with them all. We're going to have to explain what happened to grandfather anyway"

"How do you propose we do it?" Hilary asked biting her lip "I don't want to give them all a heart attack by just turning up on the doorstep"

"Maybe you should send Jake in first" a new voice suggested, everyone turned and Millie walked up with a bag of crisps in her hand "Look it makes sense for Jake to go to that family thing of yours, there you can get the whole thing over with, Jake you tell them what happened but start it up like it's a story, that way the members of family that know what Voltaire was like will be more understanding of it all. If you go in and say granddads dead but it's ok cos now we have Hilary back everyone will want to have you sectioned."

"Well we've been thinking about it for a few years" Cheryl added gaining a laugh and nod from Hilary

"That gives me time to work out what to say" Jake agreed "Alright, thank Millie"

"No problem" Millie shrugged "Hils… I've got to finish packing, can you give me hand?"

Reading the hidden message Hilary nodded "Sure" standing they walked back inside, Hilary knew by her words that Millie had spoken to Max and not gotten the response they both wished for.

--

"Jake! Cheryl!" the welcome Jake and Cheryl received as they entered the family event was cheerful, the looks on their face however was not. They received a lot of questions until finally Jake managed to get everyone's attention, after asking everyone to find a seat (most of them had to sit on the floor) he stood and looked around

"This is one of those good news, bad news situations" he started nervously "I have something to tell you all and I think its going to shock you all… first though I'm going to start with a story. A story of a man and his friend, two people that would do anything to rule the world"

"Jake!" a warning voice permeated through from the crowd but Jake ignored it

"Most people in this room know who and what I'm talking about. Horatio Tatibana and Voltaire Hiwatari. These two men went to school together, they were friends and all their life they shared an unhealthy obsession that would be damaging to their children. I won't go into details as almost everyone here knows what it was but the thing they needed most for their plan was a young girl we all held dear. Hilary"

"You treated her like dirt Jake!" someone shouted

"Their plan for her seemed foiled when she died, we all mourned her, we were all sure it was over but there was something none of us had counted on. The sheer cruelty and deviousness of Horatio and Voltaire. However, one girl did count on it, upon discovering that Horatio had arranged the cremation to go ahead early she did some research, she discovered something that didn't make sense."

"What?" it was Hilary's mother that spoke now, she was staring at Jake hopefully now

"Hilary was…. Sexually active, the girl we saw was…"

"Virgo intacto" Hilary's father spoke up looking shocked "I remember reading it… I don't understand, how is that possible?"

"Horatio was known for his work in a certain field many years ago, you all thought it was far to sci-fi, you kept telling him it wasn't an investment and back then a lot of people thought it might be impossible."

"Cloning" another voice said worriedly

"Exactly"

"What happened… to Hilary?" Abigail was on her feet now "What happened?"

"Horatio took her prisoner, for a long time she was in great danger"

"And now?"

"Her boyfriend Kai and her other friends got her back but Horatio and Voltaire died in the process."

"Where is she?" Abigail asked her eyes filled with tears

"Outside, she…" Jake got to say no more as Hilary's parents went sprinting through the doors.

Hilary stood outside her hands nervously folding and unfolding, she wished Kai was with her, she had asked to come alone as she thought her parents might want to be alone with her. Right now she was terrified, what if they came out and declared her to be a fraud.

The doors flung open and her parents stood there looking stunned, she gave them a nervous smile before saying "have they done the 'you can't touch this' dance yet?"

Abigail gave a strangled shriek before running forwards and flinging her arms around her daughter, the two of tem were overbalanced by their sudden collision and fell to the ground in an embarrassing mess of legs and laughter. Her father came after her mother merely dropping to his knees beside them and enveloping them in a comforting embrace.

Her brothers trailed soon afterwards as did a number of hugs and soon followed a time reminiscent to when Hilary had been a newborn as she was passed from relative to relative.

--

Back at the Dojo a miserable blonde was speaking into his cell phone "I didn't know what to say" Max defended himself after explaining the situation to Rick "I wanted to reach out and grab her, tell her that it could work but… I couldn't!"

"Same old Max" Rick teased over the phone

"What being walked all over by some girl?" he asked miserably

"No, same old tactics"

"What do you mean?" Max asked frowning at the statement "I'm not in the wrong."

"Neither is she really but you are on the defence, just like when you Beyblade." Rick sighed and continued to explain "You're afraid of getting hurt again, so you keep dodging back. Millie lied so you dodge back so you won't take a hit but what you don't realise is that she aint gonna hit ya. That girl loves you, every lie she told was to protect you, you're on the defence against her when she was defending you all along. You've both got similar battling styles and personalities, you're both defensive. What neither of you seemed to realize was that you could tag team. This stuff wasn't you battling against her, it was her battling against all kinds of crap and making sure you never took a hit. She aint gonna hit ya Max, I can tell."

"But… the lying"

"She doesn't normally lie, everyone says so and… all those lies, do you really not understand why she did it? Would you have done it any differently?"

"Well…" Max stopped, Rick was right "I'd have done exactly what she did."

"There you go!" Rick crowed triumphantly

"What do I do?" he asked feeling helpless and sounding clueless

"I can't tell you that, just do what comes naturally"

"I love her, I already miss her, but I don't know anything about this stuff, will she even talk to me again?"

"Think like a Beyblade match, for once go on the offensive. Don't stick to waiting for her to make a move before you make your own. What does you're gut tell ya?"

"I've got to go for her now instead waiting around" Max said thinking about it in battle tactics style, whilst he'd been circling the dish warily Millie had made all the moves she could make, in doing nothing he had hurt her, now she was on the ultimate defence and was removing herself from the stadium to stop herself from getting hit again. She was taking herself out of the game "Thanks Rick, I owe ya"

Hanging up Max stood and made for the door, he wasn't going to let Millie leave the game, he was going to go after her with all he had until he got her back.

This was a game he was going to win

He dashed through to the garden where the barbecue was long over and everyone was sitting around eating desserts and leftovers.

"Does anyone know where Millie went?" he asked looking around worriedly

"She's headed for the airport" Tia told him form her position next to Tyson "Hilary was already calling a taxi so she got Millie one to, she left about ten minutes ago"

"Damn it!" Max complained biting his lip "I have to get after her… Ray where's your car?"

"It kind of got smashed up with the whole Boris thing" Ray told him apologetically "Sorry"

"Not your fault" Max shook his head miserably "I'm just gonna have to get a taxi myself, that's all, I just hope it's quick enough"

"I'll take you" Tala offered quickly

"You have a car?" Max asked brightening up

"Not exactly"

--

Hilary sat with her mother making sure to keep her hand in hers at all time, she was worried about the woman, she had been through so much recently and the shock had obviously been a little too much. She was glad that she didn't have to face everyone straight away

"Hey mum do you mind if Kai stays with us tonight?" Hilary asked rather suddenly

"Kai?" her mother frowned unable to remember who she was speaking of

"My boyfriend, the one that found me"

"Oh… why should he want to stay at our home? Has he no where else to go?"

"He does but he's more than a little over protective of me since all this happened"

Abigail Tatibana looked at her precious daughter and smiled, lifting one hand to her face she brushed the soft skin of her cheek and kissed her forehead. "I can understand that" she told her with a smile "Alright, he can come and stay, I'd offer to make up a spare bed but something tells me that that's not necessary… is it?"

"Well, you heard how Millie worked out I was alive"

"That's exactly why I know" Abigail shook her head disapprovingly "I suppose I could let it slip and never bring it up again but let me tell you young lady that once I'm used to the fact that you're back you're in a hell of a lot of trouble."

"I think I can handle it" Hilary shrugged before leaning forward and kissing her mother "I'm just glad to be back I missed you mum…"

She watched as her father came towards her with drinks for the three of them, almost immediately her mother stiffened up,

"There's something else I want to talk to you about" Hilary said as her father sat down "It's about Brooklyn."

--

Carefully weaving through the traffic Tala transported Max through the congested roads and towards the airport. The motorbike was a ducatti and the pride of Tala's collection, he rarely used it properly but he had brought it with him to Japan in case of quick getaways being necessary. They were in the very centre of the mix when Max yelled something to Tala, unable to hear what the blonde had said because of the engine and his helmet Tala stopped amongst the still traffic and taking off his helmet yelled "What?"

"Over there!" Max told him excitedly climbing off the bike "I saw her taxi back there a second ago" Handing his helmet back to Tala Max turned and ran back through the traffic a little way, soon Tala could see him arrive at a taxi and start banging on the glass.

Millie wasn't really watching what was going on as she sat in the traffic jam, tears were in her eyes and so instead she concentrated on not letting the tears fall. She was determined not to cry over Max again! Ok so he was the most amazing boyfriend she had ever had, ok so she was still hopelessly in love with him, ok so she was going to miss…. Damn it the tears were already falling!

The tapping on her window surprised her and turning she was amazed by what she saw, there standing at her window with the worst case of helmet hair she had ever seen was Max. She just stared at him, she was so stunned by his sudden appearance that she couldn't think of what to do. Finally Max mouthed something and mimed winding down the window.

Suddenly coming to her senses Millie opened her window "What are you doing here?"

"Millie you can't go back to America….well at least…don't go yet"

"Why not?"

"Because I need you" he told her hating how pathetic his words sounded, he did need her but he wished he could find a better way of saying it "Look I was stupid and proud but the fact of the matter is I love you. Having you in my life is like having water…I can survive for a short time without it but if I never have it I'll die." Max winced "Ok that was bad but you get what I'm saying!"

Millie shook her head "I'm sorry Max but after you stayed away from me for so long, how can I even begin to believe that? How do we live with what we both did?"

"We don't" he told her "we just forgive each other, and move on. I know how you have more to forgive than I do but please you just have to forgive me and we'll just be together. Open the door and let me in and we'll talk properly"

"Sorry Max" Millie was about to roll up the glass when Max suddenly launched himself through the window and into the car. "Max!" she was stunned and the driver didn't sound to happy either but Max wriggled through the window landing actually on top of Millie in a mess of legs and arms.

When they had finally straightened themselves out and apologised profusely to the driver Millie and Max talked. Stuck in the traffic jam they talked about their relationship before they had gone to Russia, how worried Max had been when he had discovered she was missing. How he had been worried for her life, how he had been hurt by her lies. They talked about how Millie had only been trying to help Max by discovering the truth, how upset she had been when Max refused to talk to her. How she had told the agents she couldn't lie to Max anymore, how she was not normally the type of person to lie at all.

Eventually they were done talking and Max sighed "Millie?"

"Yeah?"

"Could we ever go back to how it was before? You know, how it was when we were in the US after the tournament"

"No…yes…I don't know" it was true she didn't know, no one could know in a situation like this

"Can you ever forgive me for how I treated you?"

"Yes, I already forgave you" she nodded honestly smiling lovingly at him "Can you ever forgive me for my lies?" she looked down miserably, the lies she had told still preyed on her mind

"I think I forgave you the minute we saw Kai and Hilary were alright and that everything was back to normal." Max smiled taking one of her hands in his "you know… when we were running to get out of that building, when the seconds were ticking away I was so scared for you. I knew that if you died I wouldn't be able to live. I need you in my life. I look into the future and if you're not there it looks so dark and….pointless… like there's no future for me, not without you."

"Have you been talking to Hilary?" Millie asked sceptically

"No" Max raised one eyebrow questioningly "Why?"

"Nothing" Millie shook her head "just something I once said to her"

"Right." Another silence, the traffic was starting to move and their car inched forward "So what happens now?"

Millie sat there for a minute looking at him, finally smiling she leaned forward in her seat to talk to the driver "Excuse me? Sir, could you turn around and take me back, sorry but I'll pay in full… what a waste of time and petrol, and with the current fuss everyone's making over the carbon emissions I can't believe I'm doing this." She then sat back on her seat, seeing Max's grin she held up a finger and wagged it at him "Just so you know, I'm not promising anything, I'm not about to fall on your chest weeping and saying everything will work out just fine. I have no idea how this will go but…mmph!"

Millie had to admit that of all the things Max had done that day, (chasing after her on a motorbike, running through a traffic jam, climbing through the cab window) kissing her was definitely the smartest move he had made. She melted into the kiss as tears started to roll down her face, feeling the salt water on his fingers Max broke the kiss and wiped her tears away.

"Sorry" she muttered sniffing slightly "I hate when I cry, my eyes go all red" she tried to sound blasé so he wouldn't think she was a total wimp

"It's OK" he told her with an affectionate look in his eyes, "you always look beautiful to me." He kissed her lips quickly "especially in that black outfit you wore in the building…" he watched her blush at the memory of her skintight outfit.

"That was for getting through the vents, that's all" she protested embarrassed by his grin "I don't like wearing that kind of thing normally"

"No, of course not" Max agreed cheerfully "but when we're alone… ow!" he and Millie laughed together as she hit him on the arm before kissing him again.

Just pausing for long enough the smiling Tala gave a nod as he revved his bike and sped forwards so he could turn back, looks like things were finally working out.

--

It was tough, her mother was determined that there was no hope of a reconciliation between the two parents but as Hilary went to bed that night she had come to the conclusion that all was not what it seemed there. She knew her mother very well considering how much they had been separated in the last few years, there was still love in her eyes when she spoke of her husband. Hilary was pretty sure that there was every chance for her parents to be happy.

Sighing Hilary tried to move in the bed but Kai's strong arms were around her waist holding her tightly to him. It was an uncomfortable position to be in but when he had lain next to her and trapped her she had allowed him to hold her hoping that his grip would loosen during the night. It hadn't. She was stuck.

Actually she didn't mind being held, she really liked feeling secure and wanted…, but right now there was something she wanted. She wanted to use the toilet. Grousing a little Hilary tried to wriggle out of Kai's grip but he just held her tighter, finally she managed to pry one of his arms loose and she was just escaping when he sat up and grabbed her back.

"Where are you going?" he murmured groggily

"The bathroom" she whispered back

"You were just gonna go?" he asked sitting up

"I need to use the toilet" Hilary was astounded, when had Kai gotten so clingy? "What is this school? Do I have to ask permission first?"

"No…no" shaking his head Kai rubbed his eyes and sighed "I didn't mean to…"

"Didn't mean to what?" Hilary asked feeling confused "Kai what is wrong with you? You never used to cling to me like this, I don't mind it but…"

"I lost you" Kai told her taking her hand and squeezing it "Look… when you were 'gone' I used to dream that you were there, and then I'd wake up and you were gone. After you woke up that time you got your memory back, when I woke up and you were in the kitchen instead of in the bed I almost panicked thinking you were gone again."

After hearing him out Hilary smiled "Damn you" she leant forward to kiss him "you always say something to make me love you more than I already did." she placed a soft kiss on his lips and was about to pull away when Kai grabbed her back to kiss her further but fortunately she managed to escape his grasp jumping off the bed and heading out the room hissing "I still need to use the bathroom."

Kai laughed and lay back down waiting for Hilary to return, as soon as she came back into the room and jumped on the bed he reattached himself to her, they faced each other and Kai wrapped one arm around her waist and the other slid under her. His legs twisted with hers and soon the two of them were pretty much as close as two people can be.

Hilary stroked Kai's hair smiling happily "Kai?"

"Yes?"

"I do love this but I will need to get up before you sometimes."

"I know…I think eventually…I might be Ok with waking up and not seeing you, but you know…"

Hilary held a hand over his mouth stopping him from talking "How about I always wake you up before I leave the bed, that way you can be sure it wasn't a dream"

"I'd like that" Kai admitted kissing her cheek gently "you must think I'm so pathetic"

"No, I think you're human and you're the human that I love more than any other."

"So what we discount aliens?" he joked sarcastically

"Yeah I had a real thing for the guy who played Tuvok in Star Trek Enterprise" Hilary laughed it off but stopped when she saw him looking serious again.

"I love you" he muttered almost dismally

Her next words made him brighten again "I love you too… so you dreamt about me?" Hilary smirked as his downcast face began to pinken

"Yes"

"In your dreams did you kiss me?"

"Yes"

"Was it good?" she asked smiling, his own grin matched hers

"I wanted to sleep forever" he admitted his eyes regarding her face lovingly

"Good thing I'm back then" she whispered before pressing her lips to his.

* * *

Please R&R, I will be back soon with a final epilogue chapter but that may be after xmas, I'm not sure.


	43. A bow on top

The story is technically over but there were a few loose ends that needed tying up so here it all is in a great big bow!

* * *

Hilary stared down at the grave where her grandfather had been buried, despite all he had done she felt some sadness that he was gone. She still remembered the years when she had loved him. He was dead though, a part of her couldn't help but feel relieved that he was gone, she had been there when the bodies of the two men were dragged from the building, she had Kai's guarantee they were gone, she'd studied the autopsy report with meticulous care. They were gone... why did she feel so guilty about it then?

"He'd never have left us alone" Kai told her matter of factly "We'd have been watching our backs all our lives, we'd never have been able to just relax and be together"

"I know, I just..." Leaning into his embrace Hilary felt the warmth from Kai's body and sighed happily, ever since she had come 'back to life' her world had been filled with craziness, her family had taken her to see every member aged eight to eighty and in each place she had felt uncomfortable, right here, right now, she felt at home. "I wish it could have all been different."

"Lets get out of here" he pulled on her arm "where do you want to go?"

"Mr D is arranging a big party for my 'return', almost everyone is there" Hilary sighed thinking about it "I'm not sure I want to go."

To be honest that didn't bother Kai much, he'd prefer not to go but… looking at her he smiled, Hilary was the one that loved to socialise, that adored parties, that always wanted to go out. He knew that if things were ever going to get back to normal she had to go back to that again "Tell you what" Kai offered getting her attention "We'll go to the party and if, after half an hour you still want to just go home then give me a signal and I'll drag you out of there giving everyone my classic get lost stare."

"I don't know, that stare's going to have to be pretty good" Hilary teased, she looked up at him "You've been smiling so much these days that I find it hard to believe you can still do any sort of glare" she laughed as Kai's features immediately dropped into a condescending frown "OK, I believe you"

"Good" he kissed her roughly before heading back to the car an arm still around her "besides I only really smile when we're alone"

"No body knows it" Hilary sang teasingly "but you've got a secret smile and you use it, only for me." Kai growled low in his throat before guiding her away, Hilary just laughed, Kai was right, he did only really smile when they were alone. A lot of people had expected him to change a lot after all he'd been through but though Kai was different when it was just them, he was the same in public. In the eyes of the worlds he was as aloof as ever but to Hilary he had never been more attentive, the little things were what she noticed, the way he'd glance at her across the room lifting one eyebrow until he got the nod that she was alright, the way he'd text her every now and then to make sure she was alright, the fact that he said he loved her almost constantly when they were alone. it was just one of his traits that he didn't show real emotion, she was used to it, she was used to looking for the slight changes on his face and when she saw them she loved it. It was different when they were alone, he was free then but with people watching she had to look had changed, he just didn't let anyone but her know it.

-

Six months later

-

Max smiled as he traced his fingers along Millie's bare arm, ever since they had returned to America their relationship had advanced, they spent every night together and rarely missed having every meal together. It hadn't changed when they returned to Japan, her cousin Tia gave him the evils occasionally but everyone could see how happy the couple were together so she never said anything outright. Millie sighed cuddling closer to him as he continued his silent contemplation of her face, she was very beautiful, he couldn't believe he had gotten so lucky as to make her fall for him. Her hair was back to it's original blonde now and her skin had tanned naturally making her look like a model. She was still shy, she would blush sometimes when they were together but part of him hoped that would never change. He loved her, just the way she was.

"Mmm" Millie stretched and opened up her bleary eyes, slowly Max came into focus and she smiled happily "Good morning"

"Good morning" he repeated back shifting in the bed so that they lay looking directly into each others eyes. "Sleep well? I figured you must be tired after last night so I let you sleep in" he grinned as she blushed under his gaze, he smiled and wrapping his arms around her began to kiss her neck

As his words finally registered Millie frowned "Sleep in? Wait. What time is it?"

"Almost ten" he murmured lazily

"What?" Millie exclaimed sitting up and glanced around for the clock "But the wedding is at 12, I was supposed to join the girls over an hour ago!"

"Like you really need that long to get ready" Max protested as she struggled to get out of bed, seeing this he grabbed her and pulled her back towards him.

"We're going to be late" Millie complained as Max trapped her between himself and the mattress

"So?" he asked a devilish smile curling his lips

"Well we can't be late, I'm a bridesmaid and you're one of the groomsmen" she pointed out as though explaining it to someone who had no clue what was going on.

"I think we can be a little bit late" he told her his lips on her neck making her squirm "Don't you?"

--

"I really am so sorry everyone" Millie apologised again as they rode in the car heading for the site of the ceremony

"It's alright" Julia and Tia reassured her with understanding smiles. "As it is we didn't need that much time to get ready."

"How were you to know your alarm would fail?" Mariah smiled easily at her as she relaxed with a glass of champagne

"Yeah, you couldn't have known" Hilary agreed but her raised eyebrow showed a measure of disbelief that meant Millie would have some questions to answer later. The two of them smiled at each other as the other three girls began to panic about what was going on, Millie and Hilary never really panicked about anything these days. The six months had been busy but manageable thanks to Hilary's wonderful organizing skills. Thanks to Renaldo's connections a mysterious girl with no relatives living with a very similar description to Hilary and a past address in the immediate area showed up on the records, a brunette with memory loss showed up in a local hospital's documentation and a case of mistaken identity and amnesia was circulated to the press.

Dr K had been 'dealt with' which meant that Jake had managed to get false charges set up against her and had placed her in jail. She didn't know what they had done to keep her quiet but she was pretty sure it must be something big.

The press had gone crazy over the story, Hilary and Kai had spent most of their time standing together and allowing photo's to be taken. Kai had remained motionless throughout it all whilst Hilary had smiled dazzlingly and answered questions happily. They were called the golden couple, everyone adored them loving the story of Kai's loving dedication (he hadn't appreciated that but it was important) and Hilary's memory returning with thoughts of Kai and her return to his side.

People had eaten it up and thanks to her many friends and strong family willing to back her up Hilary had come back with very few questions asked. A few people had asked some difficult questions about why the hospital hadn't searched for her more thoroughly but the answer that Hilary's ID had been taken off missing persons so they hadn't thought of her.

All in all the whole thing had gone well, now she could concentrate on living her life, and part of that unfortunately included dressing up in a light pink and rather unfortunate bridesmaids dress with puffy sleeves. She didn't mind the colour really, it looked good on all of them but the sleeves and line of the dress annoyed her, it was unflattering to say the least…, and there were going to be pictures of her in this dress in the Magazine that had brought the rights to the wedding pictures.

None of them had been thrilled with the dress but Mariah wanted it so Mariah got it. Even now as they arrived at the ceremony the other girls could be seen giving their dresses looks of distaste. The wedding planner was fussing as though the girls didn't know that Tia was to go in first followed by Julia, Millie, Hilary and then finally Mariah and Lee. Hilary didn't see why they had a planner in the first place, it couldn't be any harder to plan a wedding than it was to arrange Beyblade tournaments like she did in her new job.

Standing between Millie and Mariah as they lined up to go in Hilary leaned forward to whisper "Just remember, we don't mind about the dress but it **will** suffer an accident after the ceremony as we drive to the hotel and then we can go change."

"I'll pass it on, does Cheryl definitely have our replacement dresses?"

"I texted her a minute ago, the answer's yes."

"Thanks… Mission Control" Millie teased turning to wink at her friend, she grabbed her bouquet from the organiser as she spoke.

Hilary laughed and clutched her own bouquet tightly "No problem agent Davis!" The music started and Tia at the front began to walk.

--

Ray and Mariah's baby was a full six months now and Hilary could feel the weight of the baby in her arms. She grinned down at baby Hilary as Ray and Mariah danced together their first dance as man and wife. The baby had been perfectly behaved throughout the whole thing, not once did she cry, not once did she make a fuss and so far only one dirty nappy. As she thought this the baby did began to fuss sucking on her hand and looking miserable, leaning down Hilary began to rifle through the baby bag

"Everything OK?" Kai asked watching Hilary try to juggle the baby and search for a bottle at the same time

"I can't find her bottle… here take her" Hilary placed the baby into Kai's arms and picked up the bag properly, baby Hilary stared warily at Kai before giggling and grasping a few strands of blue hair and pulling hard.

"OW!" Kai gave the baby a glare but she only seemed to find this funny and pulled harder

Hilary chuckled as she continued her desperate search for a bottle, finally she found it at the bottom of the bag and turned back to Kai. "pass her over" Hilary laughed holding out her hands to take the baby "Oh poor baby, was he mean to you?"

"I think you'll find she was mean to me" Kai told her watching as Hilary began to feed the baby, he watched her lovingly but to the outside world it was barely noticeable, Hilary saw the slightly softer light in his eyes and smiled, she knew Kai liked kids for the most part, he'd actually make a pretty good father.

As though he had read her mind Kai suddenly asked "Do you want kids?"

"Kai?" she gave him a surprised look

"I was just wondering, I know you like kids but… after all that happened"

"You think we're going to produce a load of Brooklyn's if we have kids, great at Beyblading but ever so slightly nuts."

"More than slightly" Kai reprimanded her thinking back to the finals where most of them had almost died "And yes, how can we guarantee that our kids won't become… like him?"

"With love" Hilary told him as though it was the simplest thing in the world "With love we let them see that winning isn't everything, besides, if you and I have kids there'll be at least one person who can beat them"

"Who?"

"You, you defeated Brooklyn, I'm sure if you train our kids right they could still be beaten by you."

"I guess"

"Have you thought about it…" Hilary asked cautiously "us having kids?"

"Maybe, sometimes" he relaxed back in his seat and faced the newlyweds on the dance floor "I always knew you'd want them"

"How?"

"Just the way you are with kids, with Robin and now Hilary"

"I just like kids, they're trusting in ways that adults aren't, they have so few secrets and so much innocence." Her face looked troubled as she watched the baby in her arms drinking from the bottle. "What about you… do you want kids?"

"I don't know" Kai told her honestly, "A part of me does worry about what they'd be like, not just because of our genes but… I'm not very good at the emotional stuff, I know what it was like to have so much distance in my father figures. I don't want that for my own children"

"It'd be different" Hilary told him affectionately "There's a lot that happens in the build up to having a child that will change you, you must have noticed that Ray acted differently"

"Not really, I was busy with the tournament when we first found out, and the illness, and then I was in Russia…" he paused not wanting to talk about he final reason as to why he had paid no attention to his friend.

"Well I noticed a few changes when I was here… but Kai, if you don't want to have children…"

"Hey Guys!!" Tyson and Tia arrived next to them before anymore could be said "We haven't seen you dancing yet!"

"We think you should" Tia agreed holding out her arms "I'll take the baby, you guys get out there" before either of them could even think to argue with the young couple Tia had taken the baby from Hilary whilst Tyson shoved Kai from his seat.

Reluctantly Kai and Hilary walked out onto the floor, the music was slow and most of the other couples were dancing happily, Max and Millie were together in dreamy silence much like Mariah and Ray. Hiro and Arelam were talking to each other in a lot tone whilst Julia teased Tala mercilessly, Miguel and Mathilda were laughing over some private joke and Jake and Cheryl were just completely quiet.

At a spot on the floor away from the other dancers Kai stopped, wrapped his arms around Hilary's waist allowing her to put her own arms around his neck and began to move with her to the music. They were silent for a time, Kai's face set in an almost grim expression making Hilary want to laugh. Finally his mouth softened into a smile and he leaned down so his lips were close to her ear "I do want children with you, I love you and if I can tell you that then I'm sure I could tell them as well."

Hilary's breath hitched in her throat and she buried her face in his chest, he held her tighter pressing his lips to her cheek.

They danced together holding each other close, this was their dream, a lifetime of holding each other close, years to be spent surrounded by their friends, a future filled with more happiness than they knew how to handle, a destiny of love.

* * *

Soppy, sappy and every other mushy adjective I can think of. Still it's been fun ride. The reason I had a chunk of story about Millie and Max is because I just didn't give them enough time as a couple before and unlike with the other two main couples in the story I never really showed their romantic side, I love Millie, she's the first character I ever created that I really like and she's great with Max.

My next story for Beyblade won't be put up until at least March, I have a few Naruto fics to finish and work on before I start anything else. I've decided that my new years resolution is to only ever work on two fics at once. Having three or four on the go is very hard and leads to months of inactivity.

Thank you so much everyone that stuck with it Mika, Never more (ari princess), SkyD, Hitomix, Uchia Cutie, Rose of Sharon and anyone else that I've forgotten, you've all been there for me and I really appreciate it.


End file.
